ST : Voyager - Causality
by Blue001
Summary: Four years after stopping Henry Starling on Earth in 1996, (VOY EP : The Futures End), Janeway and her crew discover the damage may have already been done, and it's effects can be seen even as far out as the Delta Quadrant. (Set in the last season of the VOY TV series, after the episode "Homestead". Book 1 (37 chapters) is Complete.)
1. Book 1 : Prologue

**Authors Notes**

**More Detailed Summary** (Books 1 - 3) ~

Four years after stopping Henry Starling on Earth in 1996, (VOY EP : The Futures End), Janeway and her crew discover the damage may have already been done, and it's effects can be seen even as far out as the Delta Quadrant.  
(This story is set just before the end of the last season of the VOY TV series, after the episode "Homestead" in which Neelix left the crew.

Book 1 (37 chapters) is Completed.

**Book 1 Summary**

Crashed on an alien planet and facing the wrath of the indigenous species, the crew discovers an unexpected connection to Earth, and their own previous travels in time.

**Book 2** **Summary **(Coming soon!)

Chakotay has disappeared, but Janeway and the crew have no time to spare to look for him. They are facing an enemy of overwhelming numbers. Can they save themselves and their new allies?

**Characters** : All of the crew you know and love, and even some returning characters from the TV series, such as...

*Rain Robinson from the VOY episode "The Futures End".  
*Admiral Paris from Season 7 of VOY  
*Gariff Luclsy from DS9 Episode "Trials and Tribble-ations"  
*And introducing a new original character ~ Christopher Moss, this "episodes" main antagonist is actually related to a character shown in the ST: VOY episode "11:59", so he's not just thrown into the story for no reason as it may seem at first.

**Other Connections** : This story references (in a few lines here or there) plot events from a few of the officially published voyager book series. You do not need to have read these books to understand fully what is happening in the main story, but if you have, you may understand more what is being referenced in these lines. For example, I mention the Iconian gateways from the "Gateways" series of Star Trek books. I feel most Star Trek fans will understand the references and I felt I would leave it in for dialogue flavor and some back history, but I realize it is not "necessary" and that I could have removed these lines.

_(I do not own the rights to Star Trek, or its characters. This is a non-commercial fan written story.)_

I have tried to make this story as accurate (timeline and canon-wise) as possible, using all the references at my disposal. Enjoy!

* * *

**BOOK 1**

**Prologue**  
_The Debriefing_

The small conference room was dimly lit, remaining eerily quiet as it had been for almost an hour. She sat at the end of the table alone as she waited for Admiral Paris and the Starfleet committee to arrive.

Admiral Kathryn Janeway sighed silently to herself.

Three years ago she had been in this exact room upon their return to the Alpha Quadrant, and at that time she had been hastily debriefed. However events during that time which involved an immediate threat on Earth by the Borg had caused it to be a quicker than usual debriefing, and because of that she knew someday they would call her back to review the logs from their seven year journey in much greater detail.

She looked up as the door to the room opened with a soft hiss, and from it emerged Admiral Paris looking down at the padd he was carrying.

She quickly stood to her feet as protocol required, all the while straightening her dress uniforms vest by tugging on it firmly. As Paris came to a halt a few paces into the room, she saw that he was followed by two others, a man and a woman. Both appeared at first to be civilians, however upon a moments study she saw that they were dressed in black-gray outfits which she immediately recognized. Temporal Investigations uniforms.

Janeway quickly ran through her mind all of the times the crew of the Voyager had found themselves dealing with time travel and altered time lines.

"Admiral Janeway, May I introduce you to Gariff Lucsly and Rita Hollis from Temporal Investigations. Please, be seated and we will begin." Admiral Paris said, and Janeway gave a nod to each of them and then took her seat once again.

After they were all seated, she at her end of the table and them at theirs, Admiral Paris looked up at her from the padd and smiled. "First of all Admiral, I feel I must again commend you on many successfully completed missions in the Delta Quadrant. You did very well with the limited resources you had. We have been reviewing all of your logs from your time in the Delta Quadrant with a more in depth analysis, and some of the things in that database are really quite amazing."

Janeway looked down at her hands which were clasped on the table in front of her. He was right, they had been through a lot, but after the long trip, it was very hard to let it sink in that it was over, even now, three years later.

"I would never be able to say it was only my doing. You also have my crew to thank for all the hard work they did over the years. Without them Voyager would have surely been lost."

"Of course, Admiral. Now, shall we move on to why we are here." Admiral Paris said picking up a padd in front of him.

"Admiral Janeway, as I'm sure you are aware, you broke many starfleet protocols on many occasions. Sometimes in more serious cases than others." Lucsly said abruptly, his attitude towards Janeway showing fully. He was glaring at her angrily, yet somehow still professionally. It was then Janeway knew that this debriefing would be a long one.

Admiral Paris looked slightly to his right at Lucsly, without actually making eye contact. It was clear he wasn't fond of Lucsly either.

"Gariff, starfleet understands the situation that the Voyager had been in. As you already know we have previously dropped all the charges that could have been placed on Admiral Janeway and her crew. Of course, there are some things we must discuss, that is why we are here."  
Lucsly merely blinked and continued to glare at Janeway.

Rita Hollis was the next to speak.

"Why don't we begin again," she said softly, "Admiral Janeway, we have asked you here today because something rather unexpected has happened."

"We have received a direct communication from a species you seem to have encountered on your journey home." Admiral Paris said.

"I would have been surprised if none of the species we had encountered were to contact us" Janeway asked drawing forward slightly. Her crew had encountered many species who might have eventually had an interest in contacting the Federation. She wondered which it would be. "What is the source?"

"We also expected to receive communication from some of the species you encountered, however this is not why they message is unexpected. It is the fact that this name and the species involved does not appear in your logs that is the surprise to us. The message is from an individual named Christopher Moss, a human, speaking on behalf of another species called the Frain." Lucsly said, again in an abrupt and angry tone.

Janeway blinked and sat back in recollection. She indeed did know of who they were speaking, but as far as she knew he was still well inside the Delta Quadrant, and he nor the Frain had the means of contacting earth. "Yes, I know of whom you speak, but as far as I knew he was—"

"In the Delta Quadrant, yes ... we know. However, we have done a recursive review of your logs from stardate 54870.4, we know what you reported happened in the Frain system, what we don't understand is why you felt the need to omit some of the happenings from your logs, like the existence of Christopher Moss or the Frain species themselves. All that you reported was that you intersected with a spacial anomaly, but it in no way adversely affected the ship or its crew. in fact, there was no more to the log beyond the name of the Frain system and its planets, which is how we even knew were to look." Hollis said.

Janeway understood their question. She had left out everything that had happened, all the important details of the entire happenstance. It was for Moss's protection that she had left the whole thing out of her logs. But at the time she assumed he would be well out of the mind set of the Federation since he was in the Delta Quadrant. It now seemed however, that he was well on their minds.

"What does the message say?" she asked seeking more information on why he had broke the silence they had agreed upon.

Admiral Paris activated a console embedded in the table, then from countless speakers that were well hidden around the room came the message.

_ "Come in Earth, My name is Christopher Moss, and I am a human. I am broadcasting from the planet Fra within what you call the Delta Quadrant, I am an acquaintance of Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager. Please, return this signal using the same telemetry and frequency I am now using to transmit._" said the voice which she knew was Christopher's. The message then began to repeat, but Admiral Paris cut it off before it finished a second time.

"Have you responded to the message?" She asked, her eagerness to find out what caused him to send a message halfway across the galaxy growing.

"Without knowing the details of who he is and why he is there, we felt that we would hold off responding until we spoke with you." Hollis said.

"Shall I start from the beginning?" She asked sitting up as strait as she could. She inwardly wished Chakotay was here to offer his aide in this debriefing, but he was seeing to his duties as the new Captain of Voyager.

"Yes, please do." said Admiral Paris as he activated the computer to record what she was about to say. "From the very beginning."

So, she began, from the very beginning.


	2. Book 1 : Chapter 1

**Chapter One**  
_The End Of One Day_

_Earth, June 13, 2003_

Christopher Moss smiled to himself as he walked.

Above all, his senior year in high school had been the hardest and most enjoyable at the same time. Although part of him felt as if he hadn't learned everything he would require for the future, he had decided that what he had learned would have to get him through.

Other students shuffled past him on either side, going in both directions. He knew many of them, some personally and others just in passing, but all in all, today of all days, everyone had their own destinies on their minds. It was graduation day.

He slowed his pace and maneuvered himself through the crowd towards the right wall of the hall where his locker was located. He had rarely ever used his locker during his four years there, but he was required to turn in the school issued lock to the office since it was his last day there.

Slowly, he opened the combination lock, quicker than any time he had done previously.

He removed the unhinged lock, lifted the lever, and then swung the locker door open, revealing the empty compartment. But something caught his eye, he had almost forgotten one thing inside. Taped to the door of the locker, was a newspaper clipping of a story on the Millennium Gate. He took the clipping and held it in his hands. This was his future, or at least, what he hoped it would be.

Closing the locker door, he made a glance to the far end of the hall, where he saw one of his teachers, Ms. Robinson, who had taught his astronomy class. She was slowly walking down the hall carrying two large bags, one in each hand.

Chris began to walk down the hall toward her, and when he came close, he greeted her.

She was a younger teacher, perhaps in her early thirties, he didn't really know. It was her medium length black hair and her exuberant childlike personality that made him wonder how old she really was.

"Would you like a hand with one of those?" He asked putting the newspaper clipping into his pocket.

"Thanks, Christopher. Here, this is the heavier of the two, do you think you can manage?" she replied gratefully and showed a sudden relief as she placed one of the bags down onto the floor. He had always felt the best when he was helping others when he really didn't have to. So every chance he got, he felt compelled to do so.

"Oh yes, I'm pretty sure I can handle it." he said and began to laugh lightly to himself, as he hoped his statement would end up being true. Standing six feet tall, Christopher wasn't very physically built as he had focused on mental exercise rather than physical over the years.

He lifted the bag with his left hand, and in the process almost stumbled, but caught himself by shifting the weight of the bag to his right foot. He had been unaware that the bag would actually be this heavy.

From this angle he could now see what was inside the bag. There were a few small telescopes and a few books on constellations. He had used the telescopes himself his freshman year, and he had always been fascinated with stars and the universe. He had even stayed after a few nights with Ms. Robinson and a few other students to stargaze as an extra graded assignment.

His teacher had always seemed so fascinated with the stars, and Chris had always wondered if she had some special reason for being so amazed with them. She would often just glance up at them and smile, like she was remembering something.

"Thank you for your help. I would have collapsed of exhaustion before I reached the storage room." Ms. Robinson exclaimed with a laugh while lugging her now lighter load down the hall.

"No problem, it's the least I could do." he said still struggling with his bag, but continued to keep pace beside her.

"Will you be at the Graduation Dance?" she asked him, almost short of breath again. "I know you work a lot of nights."

Chris had started working years before, and had done so the first chance he could. On his fifteenth birthday he had asked his father to bring him to get his workers permit, as he wanted a head start on saving for his future. His job wasn't all that impressive, but it got him the money he would need someday.

"I made sure I got that night off from work." Chris exclaimed. He was starting to feel a bit fatigued from carrying his load, so he shifted the weight of the bag again, this time to his left side.

"That's good to hear. I'm chaperoning at the dance myself, so maybe I'll see you there." she said as they reached the storage room. They both placed their bags down and she reached into her pocket to find the key for the door.

Suddenly, someone bumped into Chris from behind. Chris was able to balance himself and kept his footing, and he turned to see who had bumped him. Walking quickly down the hall was a man with short brown hair. He couldn't make out any more details of who the person was, so he thought he would just let it go.

"That was rude." Ms Robinson said to Chris and then she bent down and picked up something off the floor. "Looks like you dropped something."

Chris looked down at what she was picking up. It was a pin of some kind, but he didn't recognize it, "It's not mine. Maybe it's his."

Chris took the strangely shaped pin from her hand and looked down the hall after the person who had bumped him. He had been there a moment ago, but now the hall was completely empty. He could have gone anywhere in the school by now.

"I'll bring it to the office and make sure to put it into the lost and found. I have to go there to drop off my locker lock anyway. Will you be all set with these bags now?" he asked, stretching his arms so that the blood would flow through them normally again after having carried such a heavy bag.

"Yes, I appreciate your help. You have a good afternoon." she said to him as she opened the storage room door.

With that, he turned and headed for the office of the high school.

After a few moments he entered the lobby. On his right was the entrance to the schools auditorium, where he'd been a few hours before for a school assembly. Chris had volunteered to stay and help clean up the stage after the assembly had ended. He had the extra time to volunteer since his last class had been a study hall.

Chris looked towards the office, and saw a long line of students waiting to pass in their locks, so he decided to stop for a moment and have one last look at the auditorium before he left. He walked into the auditorium and looked up at its high ceiling. He reached into his pocket and retrieved the news paper clipping once again before sitting in one of the auditorium chairs. He quickly read it, even though he already knew the details of the story, as he had read it a hundred times before.

The Millennium Gate was a self-sustained habitat that was the first step to the colonization of other planets. Although the project had started three years before, he hoped to focus his college career in an aim to join the projects science or engineering teams and plan for the first off-world version of the habitat.

Chris thought back to the year the 'Gate' had started being built in Indiana. He had watched coverage on the news about how the project had almost been moved to a different site because a single shop owner hadn't wanted to sell his store. His father had received a lot of phone calls from Chris's Uncle, the man in charge of the team building the Gate. He could always hear yelling on the other end of the phone, because his Uncle couldn't talk the shop owner into selling. But eventually, someone had coaxed the stubborn owner to sell at the last second of the deadline.

Snapping him out of his train of thought, Chris heard a strange chirping sound come from his pocket. He quickly reached into his pocket and retrieved the pin the man had dropped. It chirped again. Cautiously he moved to touch it with his other hand.

His hand reflexively stopped before he was able to touch the pin as he suddenly began to feel an unintentional kind of apprehension. Then the hairs on his arm and neck started standing straight up on their ends and the feeling of a static charge flowed over him. It was like the feeling rubbing bare socks on the carpet would produce, but he hadn't done any such thing.

He then felt as if he had gone deaf in an instant. All sound around him ceased as if they had not existed in the first place. There was no longer the normal sound of the ventilation system, the sound of footsteps on the tile flooring outside in the lobby, even the sound of people talking suddenly vanished from all comprehension. It was as if they had been blocked out by something. All he could be sure he was hearing was his heartbeat, which had quickened significantly.

He was still looking at the pin and his other hand, which both had an amazing blue light emanating from them. He quickly looked down at his body, which was also glowing the bright blue.

The auditorium around him began to shimmer as well, so he closed his eyes with hope that if he ignored what he was seeing it would go away. But it didn't.

He opened his eyes and was about to yell for help, but he realized, he was no longer in the auditorium of his high school.

He felt disoriented for a second, and realized he was now laying flat on his back looking up at a ceiling.

"Sedate him, quickly." A voice said from beside him somewhere. Something cold touched his neck, there was a hissing sound, and it was then gone again.

Suddenly, he felt sleep nagging at him, and he couldn't help but to heed its call.

Most people dream of things while asleep, but at this moment Chris felt as if he was still awake. Yet somehow he knew for a fact he was asleep. All he could do was think, think about what was happening, why it was happening, who was doing all this, and how. None of the answers he asked himself could be answered, not by him at least. He wondered if he would ever know.

He thought about his whole life, every moment and every second he spent alive. Even things he had forgotten once were remembered again. After a long while, it seemed like he had thought about everything at least a thousand times and more. He began to realize that this dreamless sleep had already lasted a very long time.

When would it end?


	3. Book 1 : Chapter 2

**Chapter 2  
**_A Farewell_

_Delta Quadrant, Stardate 54870.4_

Outside the large windows of the ready room, the stars flowed by and appeared as blurs of light as the Starship Voyager traveled at warp four. The warp nacelles were in their up and active position which allowed for high levels of warp speed to be achieved without the danger of damaging sub-space. They would be lowered again when the ship came out of warp and again traveled at impulse speeds.

Captain Janeway leaned back in her chair and looked down at the padd that Lieutenant Commander Tuvok had just handed her. It was his daily security report and he now stood stoically in front of her desk awaiting any comments she may have.

She read over the very short list. In fact, only two infractions were listed. A few crew members had been late for their duty shifts because an 'old movie', courtesy of Lieutenant Tom Paris, hadn't ended in time for the duty shift. Secondly, there had been a small argument in the mess hall later that same evening because no one could agree on how to make one of Neelix's 'better' recipes correctly.

"It Seems like Neelix has left us with a cook position to fill, You should ask around the crew to see if anyone is interested in the job." Janeway suggested. She then thought to herself about Neelix leaving as she handed the report back to her security officer.

This particular security report reminded her that Neelix had turned her personal dining room into the kitchen without her permission, when they had been having problems with their power reserves being low. He had hoped that cooking food they gathered on planets rather than replicating it would save power, which it had.

She had thought about converting the kitchen back to her dining room once more now that he was gone, but quickly dismissed the idea. It was entirely possible they may have power problems again in the future, and she mostly ate her meals in her ready room or quarters now anyway.

"I am sure I have more important duties to tend to, Captain. Perhaps that would be a job better suited for one of the ensigns," Tuvok replied looking almost uncomfortable about the captains suggestion. Although she knew that Vulcans didn't show their emotion outwardly, she could swear she saw a definite change in his expression.

"You may be right. I guess I can get Harry to do it." Janeway said smiling and sitting upright to press a button on her computer.  
After so many years in the Delta Quadrant she had begun to leave out rank when talking to her bridge crew, for in normality, as captain, she should have said Ensign Kim instead of just Harry, but she had become used to using her crews first names, as they were easier to recall in a crunch, which seemed to happen a lot.

"That completes my report. Will there be anything else, Captain?" Tuvok asked after he glanced at the padd in his hand for a moment, probably deciding if he had forgotten anything, which Vulcans usually didn't.

"No, your dismissed." She said as her computer brought up the information she had requested.

After the door to her ready room hissed shut, she began to read the information on her computer screen. It was her report to StarFleet command about Neelix and his time on board.

She had begun to compose it before Tuvok had arrived, although she now found herself struggling on how to end it. She again began to dictate -

"In Conclusion, It is in my opinion that without the help of Ambassador Neelix at the beginning, or at any other time of our journey thus far, we, the crew of Voyager, would have not made it as far as we have."

"He will be missed by us all, and although he is not an official member of Starfleet, I am giving him a commendation of excellence in service to this crew. I will present him with this in the next communique we have with him."

She read over what she had just said for a few moments, and decided it was just the way she wanted it to be. She then saved the report and prepared it to be sent to Starfleet during the next communications burst to Earth.

After the computer had finished saving, she stood out of her chair and walked around her desk towards her personal replicator.

"Coffee, black," she requested, and a shimmer of light swirled in the replicator, leaving a mug of coffee behind. Taking the mug from the slot, she turned and stared out at the 'warp stars' passing by her window.

They had been alone in this Quadrant for a long time, and she had gotten used to not having any other starfleet vessels to help with any problems they ran into out here, but she missed a lot about Earth.

The blue sky, and the smell of green grass. Especially the gassy fields of her childhood home. Where she used to sit in the branches of her favorite tree, and daydream of winning the annual tennis tournament.

This of course, was before her favorite tree had been struck by lightning. If it had not been struck down she would have wanted to climb that tree the first chance she would have after she got Voyager home.

With her memories of home still in mind, she began to take a sip from the mug.

As soon as the warm pleasantness of the coffee hit her lips the bulkhead at her feet vibrated slightly.

Janeway lowered the mug and looked around her ready room. Nothing seemed amiss, until she again looked out the window of her ready room. The stars were no longer moving. Not only were they not moving, but the blurry tail on every star that warp travel always left was still clearly visible.

After a few seconds Chakotay's voice registered over the ship wide comm, "Red Alert, Captain Janeway to the bridge." Almost immediately she was through the door that lead to the bridge, the mug of coffee still in her hand.

She had exited her ready room many times in the past to come onto the bridge just as an enemy vessel started to attack, other times just as a naturally occurring space anomaly had intersected them.

She could only imagine what it would be this time. Whatever the case, she knew her Starfleet training and myriad of experiences here in the Delta Quadrant would help her get them all through it, whatever it was.

"Report." She said as she crossed the bridge to where Chakotay was standing. Chakotay turned to face her and he frowned, his forehead tattoo moving slightly with his expression.

"I'm afraid I don't know yet. We detected some kind of energy field seconds before we intersected with it."

"Captain, according to my readings, we are still moving at warp six, but our spacial position isn't changing on any axis." Tom said looking up at her from his station.

"What do your readings tell you Harry?" she asked as she looked to the view screen which was showing nothing but frozen blurs of stars and open space ahead. After a moment she realized he wasn't responding.

Janeway looked up over towards the Ops station where Harry Kim was stationed.

It was then she saw him. There was Harry staring at his controls like nothing was happening, not moving at all.

She quickly placed her mug on the railing and moved over towards him. By the time she was up the ramp, Tuvok had moved over to him as well and had activated a tricorder.

"I'm detecting tachyons," he paused, "or at least that's what they appear to be."

"What do you mean, they appear to be?" asked Chakotay, "Either they are or they aren't."

Janeway knew Tuvok wasn't one to plainly jump to conclusions, in fact she knew he was the one she could trust to make an in depth analysis of any situation before attempting a conclusion.

"They are highly localized, and are also showing movement patterns of... Intelligence." Tuvok said, and raised an eye brow in the well known Vulcan way of showing interest.

"You mean it may actually be a life form of some kind?" Janeway asked. She looked at Harry intently, and wondered what she could do to ensure he was alright.


	4. Book 1 : Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**  
_A Single Moment_

Harry had been having a rough morning. First, while he had been distracted by on of Tom's jokes, he had accidently tripped and dropped his breakfast on one of the female ensigns.

He had apologized of course, but shortly after that stressful event in the mess hall, another happened. This time he had to break up an argument between two engineers who were fighting about how Neelix prepared one of the few meals the crew actually enjoyed having.

Tuvok had arrived in the mess hall shortly after and said he would be making a report to the captain about the event.

And that had just been the beginning of the morning, which he was now thinking back over while running a scheduled level two computer diagnostic on his Operations station.

Also on the Bridge, Chakotay was talking to Tom about a mission they had just been on, where a small civilian vessel had taken damage from an Ion Storm and Voyagers crew had helped repair the tiny two person ship. Tom had been away on a shuttle mission while they had been conducting repairs so he had missed much of what happened.

Actually, now that he thought of it, not much really happened, besides the fact the captain of that vessel had given them a navigation chart of the systems along Voyager's immediate course.

The captain of that vessel, a strange fellow named Mink, had said he had always thought someone should create a trade station in the sector ahead. It was a largely traveled sector due to its lack of... well, anything, which made for relatively safe passage.

Across the bridge, the door to the captains ready room opened, bringing Harry back to the present. Tuvok exited and was reading what was on a padd he was holding as he walked up to his station at tactical, where he then relieved the ensign who had taken his place temporarily.

Harry again looked down at his console when it chimed that the diagnostic was completed and no errors had been detected. He activated his forward scanner display to double check their current course and the information that had been given them by Captain Mink.

Everything seemed accurate and was just as the navigational information they were provided with said it would be. It was open space for almost half a light year, nothing to worry about for at least a few days.

Something on another console caught his eye, a small indiscreet reading of a Tachyon surge. He quickly tried to pinpoint its location.

Strangely and suddenly, it felt as if his console had emitted a slight, painless electric charge into his fingers. At that same moment, his console displaying the surge went blank and no longer displayed anything, just the empty space he had seen a moment before.

"Ensign, Are you ok?" He heard the captain ask him.

He looked up to report what he had just monitored on his screen, and realized that Captain Janeway, Chakotay and Tuvok were all standing around his station. Tuvok had his tricorder raised and was scanning him.

Harry stepped back and intersected the console behind him. He was startled at the fact everyone had moved toward him in what seemed like an instant. For one thing, the Captain hadn't even been on the bridge a moment before.

Before answering he took a moment to look about himself, puzzled.

"I'm fine, Captain. I'm not really sure what happened, but how did you all move so fast?" He asked totally confused.

"We didn't move fast, you on the other hand stopped moving completely."

"Tuvok detected Tachyons present in your vicinity. Did you feel anything strange before we all moved? Chakotay asked.

"I did feel a sort of static charge right after I detected a small Tachyon Surge. It was as if I was close to a conductor of some kind, but it only lasted a moment, and then you were all looming over me." he replied and wondered to himself if there had been any permanent damage to his body.

As if she had read his mind, Captain Janeway ordered him to report to sickbay and have the Doctor examine him. Of course he couldn't have been happier to comply with the order, so he acknowledged and headed towards the turbo-lift.

As he entered the lift, he heard the Captain ask Tuvok if he was detecting any more Tachyons, and before the door to the turbo-lift closed he heard Tuvok's reply. "I am reading either the same, or different localized tachyon field directly below us on deck four. It is moving towards..."

Unfortunately, the door had closed before Harry could hear the rest.

Harry hoped that whatever this field was, it didn't come near him again. He couldn't stand being near anything that had to do with Tachyons which were almost always directly related to time disruption.

He waited while the turbo-lift hummed slightly as it moved swiftly through the ship to its destination.

When the doors to the turbo-lift opened at his destination, Harry found himself suddenly being pushed forward into the corridor.

Quickly trying to right himself he realized that the inertial dampeners were malfunctioning because he was having trouble standing and the ship was rocking back and forth.

Voyager seemed like it was out of control.

* * *

Janeway climbed off the floor into her chair at the center of the bridge. As soon as she was once again in her seat she looked over her shoulder to Tuvok.

"Report!" she yelled, barely audible over the loud noise of the ship being assaulted by something unknown.

Tuvok was holding onto his console and had apparently managed to stay standing upright, but he seemed to be having difficultly reading the shaking readouts in front of him.

"We are no longer caught in whatever energy distortion was holding us. We've dropped out of warp but breaking thrusters have not fired. The inertial dampeners are at sixty percent. Navigation and sensors have just now gone offline, we are no longer able to determine our current course and heading!" Tuvok reported.

Without the need for his report, she could already tell the inertial dampeners were at low working order by the pit she felt in her stomach. They were probably feeling at least three and a half G's.

She knew of course if the dampeners had failed completely they all would have been turned to mush and the ship would have shaken apart. She wondered why the hundreds of fail-safes made to prevent such an occurrence had not activated.

"Get the breaking thrusters back online, we need to slow down. Tom, as soon as we have them back, reverse power, we don't want to hit anything out there going this fast!" Janeway shouted rocking in her seat.

"Aye Captain!" Tom replied, clearly understanding her orders, although she was sure he hadn't heard her entirely over all the noise.

Janeway hadn't felt this level of 'turbulence' for a long time. She felt almost as if they were being hit by another wave created by the Caretaker  
She quickly glanced around the bridge, first at the blank view screen, then over the Chakotay's chair. He wasn't there, but most likely he had stayed at Ops to replace Harry. She turned her head and looked to her other side. It was at that moment she saw it.

There it was, the mug of coffee was still on the railing near her chair where she had placed it. It seemed unaffected by all that was happening around it. How could it still be there? It should have fallen and broken, or at least spilled onto the floor, but it hadn't.

She began to reach for it, but she then felt the same static charge in the air around it that Harry had described and she pulled her hand back. As she watched it, the mug suddenly bolted towards the ceiling and shattered, seeming to finally catch up with the rest of the ship.

"Captain, I'm not sure how, but the view screen is back online," Chakotay yelled, as she had assumed, from where he was now standing at Harry Kim's post.

She looked past Lieutenant Paris, who was struggling to stay in the seat in front of her at the helm, and what she saw made the pit in her stomach grow ten fold.

A large blue and green mass, it was a planet and it filled the entire view screen, no stars to be seen anywhere. This of course meant that they were close.

Very close.

The turbulence they were feeling was definitely that of atmospheric reentry at a very extreme speed.

"Short range sensors have come back online, Captain. We've entered the planets atmosphere!" Tuvok yelled from his station confirming her worst fears, "It's Class-M. Unable to determine life sign readings!"

"Computer, Blue Alert!" Janeway ordered knowing they weren't going to be able to pull up in time to leave the atmosphere. The crimson red lights on the bridge changed to a much duller blue, which signified to the crew to prepare for atmospheric entry.

"The breaking thrusters are back online, Captain!" Lieutenant Torres's voice chimed over the comm, and Janeway watched as Tom hit a few controls on the panel in front of him.

The ship rocked again suddenly, and began to steady, but remained mildly shaking with the inertial dampeners in their current state.

"We've slowed, Captain, but we're still going to hit pretty hard. Current course sets us impacting in water!" Tom shouted over his shoulder as the image on the view screen changed from clouds, to a blue ocean.

"Impact in twenty-six seconds." Tuvok said as he kept his posture the best he could under these conditions.

"Captain I believe I can keep damage to a minimum if we approach the water with the bow elevated at a 15 degree angle!" Tom exclaimed rotating his chair to face her as he looked for her approval.

He was suggesting they skip Voyager like a stone and hope they come to stop before skipping into anything solid. But it was there best chance.  
After she nodded in agreement, he turned and started to bring up the nose of the star ship.

"Impact in eleven seconds." Janeway heard Tuvok say from over her shoulder. He seemed to have worry in his voice, but she knew she must have been mistaken.

"All hands, brace for impact!" She said, her voice transmitting to the rest of the ship. After she had broadcasted that message, behind her Tuvok continued with his countdown.

"Impact in four...three...two...one..."


	5. Book 1 : Chapter 4

**Chapter 4  
**_Dangerous Locations_

Janeway was again lying on the floor next to her chair, she climbed to her feet and pushed an always stubborn lock of hair out of her eyes. Steam was pouring from a conduit near the science station on her left and ensign Wildman was already working to lock it down.

"Status," She said grimly looking over he shoulder to Tuvok, who was also regaining his standing posture.

After a moment of reviewing his readouts, he said, "We are partially submerged. We've landed close to a landmass, the water is shallow enough at this location so that we won't sink any further. We have come to rest on a coral reef, and it is keeping the ship from tilting forward. Minor damage on deck fifteen, a few hull breaches where water is entering the ship. The crew on that deck is being evacuated. It seems Mr. Paris was successful at his, somewhat unorthodox landing."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Tom Paris replied from his station, where his console flickered wildly from damage to the power relays.

"All systems have returned to their original working order, whatever had caused them to malfunction has ceased." Tuvok reported.

The console behind Tuvok sparked suddenly and went offline. Tuvok looked behind him at the smoking panel, he then looked back at Janeway and nodded to her that he was unharmed.

"On the contrary to what I just stated, external sensors are again offline." Tuvok continued to report, "Relays are burning out all over the ship due to the flooding on deck fifteen."

"Tuvok I want you to go over every sensor reading from the incident, We need to learn everything we can about that energy field we collided with." Janeway ordered as she walked towards her ready room, "Chakotay your with me."

Chakotay followed her into her ready room and took to standing by her desk, while Janeway herself walked over to her window and looked out at her new view.

It was a beautiful sunny morning, and the blue sky of the Class-M planet reminded her of the one back on Earth.

From where she was now standing she could see that all that was visible of the ship above the water was the top eight decks of the Voyager's elongated saucer section and she assumed judging from their depth so were the warp nacelles, still folded into their up position after not folding down as they should have when the ship had come out of warp.

The deflector dish and the shuttle bay however were fully submerged, as Voyager was now resting at a slight angle with the front of the ship higher than the back.

"It seems Voyager wanted to take a swim, I know I wouldn't mind one." Chakotay said after a moment. Janeway turned to face him with a slight smile on her face.

"It seems like it, although I wouldn't have minded a little warning. Any speculation on what the Field was, or would you rather be getting your swimming gear?" She asked as she walked over towards her desk where she began to straighten some of the things that had fallen over during the bumpy ride.

"No, I suppose a swim will have to wait, But I do have an idea of what may have happened. When we detected the field it almost seemed to appear out of nowhere, and there were no planets near or on our current course." He said and then looked out the window before continuing. "So I'm guessing, the field was comprised of tachyons. Tachyons are always a tricky business, but from what I can tell, when we entered the field the tachyons affected Harry and the ship. After it released Ensign Kim, it must have also released the ship, we hadn't actually stopped moving in a mechanical sense, Voyager had stopped in time completely. Only a moment had passed for Voyager, meanwhile we, inside Voyager, were in normal time."

Janeway nodded in agreement after she put her favorite cup back on her desk.

"Good hypothesis, I wouldn't be surprised if Tuvok finds that is what happened. Although your theory doesn't explain the presence of intelligence in the tachyons themselves."

"Perhaps we stumbled onto a life form who lives in time particles itself, and the field we passed through is its home." he said bending over to help her pick up.

"Maybe, but in any case, I don't think we should try to take off again until we find out if those tachyon lifeforms are still on board or not, we wouldn't want this all to happen again."

_"Doctor to the Captain."_ The Doctors voice said over the comm.

"Go ahead doctor." Janeway replied and leaned against her desk.

"Ensign Kim has arrived and after initial scans I am detecting an unknown substance on his clothing, although it does have the structure of a tachyon residue, of course it is unheard of in liquid form, as it is usually comprised of pure energy." The Doctor said in a very calm and straightforward tone.

"Do a complete analysis of the substance and report in to me afterwards." Janeway replied and then shook her head, "Janeway out."

"Tachyons in liquid form, I have to agree with the doctor, that is unheard of." Chakotay said as he rubbed the back of his head thinking.

_"Tuvok to Captain Janeway."_

"Go Ahead" she replied and smiled at Chakotay, one report after another, this was turning out to be a busy day.

"We have been able to restore short range sensors. I have detected multiple vessels on the ocean surface and in the air heading in our direction, They will arrive in 3 minutes." Tuvok said over the comm.

After giving each other a quick glance, both Janeway and Chakotay quickly rushed out of the ready room and onto the bridge.

"What kind of technology do they have, are they a Pre-warp society?" Janeway asked as she approached her chair and looked to the view screen. Chakotay was already at Harry Kims post at operations again, and had started to read the information being displayed.

"I would say they are early-warp. I am detecting hundreds of satellites in orbit, a couple of large space stations, and dozens of space faring vessels capable of... I'd say warp one. I am also reading large cities on all of the continents on this side of the planet, although line of sight prevents me from getting readings from the opposite side. If I had to guess I would say they are in equal in technology that earth was right after Zephram Cochrane invented warp drive." Chakotay reported.

Tuvok was the next to speak. "However, Captain, I doubt they have has ever left their own planetary system before, the field we passed through is encircling this system, and none of their warp trails pass near it. I hypothesize that there is a high probability they have never met another race before."

"It looks as though we've been thrown into a first contact situation, although since they are an early warp species we wont have to infringe on the Prime Directive." Chakotay said looking up from his console at the view screen.

"First contact without full aid from the federation has always been difficult." Janeway said still looking at the view screen, she watched the approaching water vessels and aircraft grow larger as the came closer. "Have they tried to contact us?"

"We have received no form of communication that the computer can recognize, although that doesn't mean they haven't used a form it can't," Tuvok said and then paused, he looked at the readouts in front of him, "Captain, I believe our outer hull was just scanned with a scanning device."

"Will our shields be operational in water?" Janeway asked facing Tuvok.

"They will work, captain, although the water will reduce their effectiveness to approximately sixty percent that of normal." Tuvok replied pushing a few controls.

"That will have to do, shields up, we can't be sure if they're a hostile race or not." Janeway said as she moved around the railing behind her chair to get up to where Chakotay was standing at Operations.

"I bet they are wondering the same thing about us." Tom said as he watched the shields flicker into place on the view screen. He pointed, "Look there, the shields are visible, right where they are coming in contact with the water."

"That effect is being caused by the energy particles in the water colliding with the shields, its making them visible, but as I said before, this is also reducing shield efficiency." Tuvok said as his hands glided across his console doing many different tasks at once.

Janeway looked down at her chairs fold up computer, which was displaying short range sensor scans. They were being surrounded on all sides by the alien sea craft.

"I guess it's a good thing that they are visible, it will keep them from crashing their crafts into our shields." Chakotay said as he looked up at the glowing shield effect Tom and Tuvok were talking about.

"The nearest water vessel is within twenty meters of our shields, and they are slowing, it appears you are right Commander. Although we may have a similar problem. An aircraft is directly on course for our shields. Should we try hailing them captain," Tuvok asked.

"No, we don't want to jump right into diplomacy until we figure out who we are dealing with, and we're not even sure if they have compatible communications technology. Tuvok, is there any way to light up the rest of the shields and make them visible?" Janeway asked as she stood and watched the approaching aircraft come closer.

"I believe I can adjust the shield frequencies and create that effect, captain." Tuvok replied and then started to work quickly, and after a few moments he said. "Our shields will now remain visible," on the view screen, the shields turned into a light blue shimmer and remained slightly visible.

"The aircraft is turning to avoid the shields." Chakotay said with relief in his voice.


	6. Book 1 : Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**  
_A Wonder From The Sky_

"Leader, the unknown craft has put up some sort of barrier, we are unsure of it purpose besides preventing our scans, but it seems to be putting off a lot of power." said Chief of Defense Tok.

"Is the barrier effecting our water table in any way that you can determine?" Wro, the leader of the people of Fra, asked from the opposite end of the table.

Wro had been in a meeting with his chief of council when he was told about the alien craft plummeting into the ocean bay off the coast of their capitol city. He had then called the immediate meeting of all the members of the protectorate, which consisted of many different scientific and governmental fields. That meeting had just begun a few moments before.

"From what we can tell from our primary surveys, it appears to have no effect on the water itself, and also none of the sea life in the immediate area seem affected." Ret, the Head of Sciences said as he read from his hand held computer.

"Can you determine the origin of the craft?" Wro asked turning his chair to his left, where a female of the species sat, she also read from a small portable computer.

"I believe it to be from beyond the field sir, although it appeared almost instantly above our atmosphere." replied Sil, the head of Astero Sciences.

She had been the first to report the appearance of the craft, before it had actually come to a halt in the bay. One of her satellites had picked up a fluctuation in the field and she had immediately informed her higher officer.

"Explain what you mean by, appeared." Wro queried.

"It was either traveling faster than our satellites could detect, or it was using some sort of jamming or stealth technology."

"We have determined it to be constructed of a more advanced technology than our own, since our scanners can not penetrate the barrier the craft has erected. However, before the barrier had been put in place, we were able to scan the craft and we detected many alloys in the surface of the craft that are not present on our elemental table. I calculated at least twelve of these such elements. That means these elements did not originate anywhere on our planet's within the field, so therefore, neither did the craft.

"So it is definitely of alien origin, that is what I needed to know, thank you all, continue your analysis and report back in four hours." Wro said and nodded his head to each of his staff as they stood and walked out of the room.

After they had all left, he walked to the window which overlooked the bay. In the distance he could see the shimmer of the crafts barrier reflecting in the sunlight.

"Please gods, don't let them be hostile."

Outside in the conference hall, Head of Astero Sciences Sil had taken to sitting on a bench and had just begun looking over a report that had been handed to her by her assistant.

The craft had been in the water nearly an hour now, and there had been no attempts of communication from it, or at least none as they could tell. The leader had decided not to try and contact the craft just yet, for the crafts purpose was unknown, and they weren't sure if anyone on the craft would even understand their language.

At twenty solar cycles Sil had been the youngest scientist to ever lead the Astero Sciences field. Her hopes were to one day prove that alien life existed, and today, that fact had been made apparent, not by her, but the aliens themselves.

Although they had still to determine if the craft was a manned or an unmanned vessel, she knew that somewhere an alien being had been, or was still in control of this craft, and it excited her greatly.

Prior to this day, the only signs of extra terrestrial life they had discovered, was a strange device from an unknown source. The device of an unknown metallic material had been discovered by the military, they claimed it had fallen from the sky into one of their test areas, almost ten solar passes ago.

She hadn't fully believed their story. The device looked old, but it did not have the markings of something that had made a reentry into the atmosphere.

"I believe it may be of the same origin of the device the military found, however it seems more advanced than this craft is." Head of Sciences Ret, Sil's higher officer, said as he walked up to her with his portable computer in his hand.

"I would have to agree, perhaps they came to retrieve the device?" Sil responded looking up from the report she had been reading.

"I would have to say that isn't the case here. From its angle of decent and how hard it impacted the water, it does seem that this craft crashed accidentally, not landed purposely." Ret said as he sat down on the bench beside Sil.

"I suppose you are right, although that would mean that it was an accident that they came here at all. Do you suppose they don't want to meet with us, and that's the purpose of their barrier?" Sil asked looking beside her at Ret, who was reading from yet another report.

"I hope not, I am looking forward to the possibility of communication with them. I can't wait to see how different they are, or even if they are similar to us. And if their technology allows for them to pass through the field unharmed, then any technology they could give us would probably allow us to leave the field as well and travel to wherever they came from. If they are willing to share it that is," Ret said and smiled, his dark purple eyes stared at a nearby wall and he became lost in thought.

Sil also began to imagine the many possibilities, was their technology so advanced that they could travel faster than their own ships could, and could they create a barrier like the one around their vessel anywhere they wished. She then began to wonder if were they were hostile and had come here wanting to destroy or conquer their world. She quickly shook her head as to not think about that horrible possibility.

As she began to read again, Chief of Defense Tok walked by and stopped in the middle of the hall where he continued to talk into his portable telecommunicator.

"I don't care if you have to call the entire crew of the submersible into duty, I know... have you been watching the information broadcast...Yes...it is an alien craft, and no its not another hoax. I want that submersible ready, and I want to know if that barrier is only on the surface or if it goes to the ocean floor...ok, get right on it..." Tok finished and closed his communicator, he then realized Sil was listening in.

"Did you find out anything else about the craft, Head of Astero Sciences Sil? Do they have any noticeable weapon systems I should know about?" he asked her with a stern look in his grey eyes.

Sil had never liked Tok, he was always worried that if they ever actually encountered aliens they would be hostile, and he didn't believe in the possibility that any alien race may be peaceful.

"As you were saying to whomever you were just conversing, it has a barrier, and if that barrier does only protect it on the surface, most of the craft is under water. As you know Astero Science scanners can not penetrate the water as they aren't designed to do that. After all, we usually scan the sky and the vacuum beyond it. Of course if you allow one of my science teams on board that submersible you were just talking about, I would be able to take more accurate readings from underwater." Sil said and blinked twice to show her anxiousness.

"I don't think so, you science types always make trouble." Tok said and smiled. He turned and walked away without the courtesy of any kind of farewell.

Sil remained seated, purely disappointed that he had said no to her request, and since he held a higher seat than she or even Ret did, she had no place to ask the Leader permission directly.


	7. Book 1 : Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**  
_14 of 18_

Aboard Voyager repairs were coming along, and the engineering staff was busy at work trying to repair the damaged relays all over the ship, most had fused together, and others had overloaded and exploded.

B'Elanna Torres the Chief engineer was at the warp coil diagnostic station when Seven of Nine approached her.

"Astrometrics is without power. I require assistance in repairing the burnt relays in that section." Seven said sternly and then crossed her hands behind her back. She would have been able to fix them herself if it had not been for the extensive number of relays that would have to be repaired.

"I'll be glad to help you, but after I buffer the system so they don't burn out again once they are fixed." Torres said and pushed a few commands on her console.

Seven knew Torres wouldn't keep her waiting long, she was a efficient engineer. She had grown to admire the willpower Torres had, even while being pregnant.

Before Seven could turn and leave to return to the Astrometrics lab, Torres turned and slapped her hand to her own forehead.

"Oh, I almost forgot, since you're here, would you mind doing me a favor? An ensign in the mess hall just reported there was a problem with the environmental controls there. Could you go and check on that for me, I will most likely be done with the buffer when you get back and I will be able to help you with the Astrometrics Lab relay's."

Seven of Nine nodded and exited engineering. She didn't mind her constant usefulness on Voyager as it kept her from becoming bored, which she had found was an unpleasant human emotion.

Seven briskly walked down the corridor towards the turbo-lift, passing a few other crew members who were doing repairs on relays behind the corridor's pull-out access paneling.

As she stepped into the Turbo-lift she requested her destination. Which was the mess hall.

The turbo-lift hummed lightly as it moved through the ship. Sevens thoughts were solely on her duties, but a random thought ran through her mind suddenly. The thought of being trapped now consumed her every being.

She gasped audibly and reached for the wall of the turbo lift, but became weak and fell to her knees. After a moment more the lift softly came to a halt. The automatic doors opened, and she crawled out onto the floor of the corridor.

After another few moments the panicked feeling subsided and she slowly got to her knees as she looked around intently. No one was nearby to see her in the state she was in, she was glad.

But she was curious as to what had just happened. The thought of being trapped seemed almost like it wasn't her own. She wondered if her Borg implants affected her somehow. She decided to go to sickbay after she completed her duties in the mess hall. She stood up, regained her composure and then began to walk down the corridor towards the mess hall.

As the door to the mess hall opened, Seven overheard the only person in the room, an ensign, as he talked into his comm badge. "...to engineering, I would like to report a malfunction in the environmental controls here in the mess hall, the temperature keeps fluctuating."  
"I will send someone to check on it, but everyone here is busy at the moment, so you'll have to wait." B'Elanna's voice was heard in reply.

"Has anyone already reported this malfunction Ensign?" Seven asked as she approached him.

However, he simply stood there and didn't respond.

"Ensign, I'm talking to you!" she stated firmly.

After a few moments of just looking at the black matting they had placed over the windows to prevent any of the aliens from seeing what was inside, the ensign turned his focus towards the mess hall doors.

"Hello Seven, did engineering send you to fix the environmental problem?" he asked thin air where seven had been standing a moment before, and then acted like he was listening to someone talk. His face suddenly changed to that of shock before he could say anything else.

"Why are you yelling Seven? Of course I know your talking to me, what's wrong with you?" He said, talking to thin air once more.

And then the ensign vanished in thin air.

Seven, confused to what was going on, was about to inform the captain of what she had just witnessed, when behind her she heard something.  
"...to engineering, I would like to report a malfunction in the environmental controls here in the mess hall, the temperature keeps fluctuating." said the ensign who had returned to his original position.

Seven looked around the room, no one else was present, as everyone had been called onto duty because of the crash. The ensign must have come in to put up the matting over the windows and had been caught in what seemed to be a time loop.

Seven decided to leave the mess hall so she wouldn't be caught in this anomaly as well. As she left, behind her she again heard Torres's voice in reply to the report from the ensign.


	8. Book 1 : Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**  
_Long Lost Secrets_

Sil had gathered all the information she could have, and it wasn't much since the barrier continued to deflect all of their attempts to scan the craft.  
She was now in her quarters on the base, where after a quick shower, she had taken to watching the hourly information broadcast. The broadcast, which was now on her wall screen with the sound off, was displaying aerial shots of the alien craft.

She was amazed at its size.

How could a ship that size travel so fast? All of their ships capable of traveling faster than light were small vessels.

She took a sip from her glass of gale, a drink her mother used to make her when she was young. It helped her think, and calmed her nerves.  
She had been going over the satellite readings of the appearance of the craft and had become frustrated.

After she had reviewed the scans of the strange flux in field that surrounded the three planets of the frain system and its sun, she had been unable to figure out how the craft had passed through it unharmed.

Her monitor displayed their planetary system. The two other planets in the system were called Mar, and Kel, and although they were lifeless, they had built large habitats, capable of supporting life.

Their planet was called Fra and it was the furthest of the three planets from the sun. This also placed Fra as the closest to the field.

No one on their planet knew what the field was or how it had been created, but it had appeared almost four thousand years ago according to ancient texts. Many believed it to be some sort of protective barrier their creators had put in place to protect their creation, or to keep them from leaving.

When Sil found that the craft had passed through the field, she wondered if this craft would cause an uproar in the religious community as this event would either confirm or destroy their beliefs.

Sil turned off the broadcast and put her glass down. It was almost time to meet with the Leader and report what little findings she had. As she was dressing into her work clothes, her wall communicator beeped. She quickly finished dressing and ran to answer the transmission.

"Ah, you are still there." Ret said as his face appeared on the screen.

"Yes, I was about to leave and meet with you before the meeting." Sil said as she straitened her long white hair and sat down.

"Oh, then I'm glad I caught you. I'm afraid the Leader has called a Level Alpha meeting, and your clearance isn't that high. So you will have to send me your findings and I'll relay them to him." Ret said, clearly disappointed that he had to tell her this.

"Level Alpha?" Sil replied, "But what could possibly be so classified that I can't attend? It's not like I don't know about the craft already, the whole planet does!"

"I'm sorry Sil, I can't discuss why...at least not yet," he said, this time clearly looking upset, "But believe me when I say, you will find out soon, along with the rest of the world. And you won't be happy. It seems Tok has been hiding something from us, but that's already saying too much. Transmit your findings to my console here at the base. Again, I'm sorry,... Ret ending communications."

Sil had stopped fixing her hair, clearly disappointed with the fact that she wasn't to attend the meeting. This news of Tok hiding something from the frain people was no shock to her as she knew how he was. But what was it?

She stood slowly, lost in thought, and went to her desks inlaid personal computer terminal. She keyed up the information she had gathered, and sent Ret her findings. The she again sat in front of the wall screen, which was still off.

How could she find out what Tok had hid from them, she needed to know.

After sitting there for a few moment, she looked up at her computer, and had an idea of what to do. She quickly stood and took her security chip out from its slot in her computers's terminal and ran out the door of her quarters.

She had one stop to make.

* * *

"Captain, I'm detecting a transmission directed in our direction." Tuvok reported while he looked down at his console.

It had been almost four hours and they had not been able to determine anything more about the tachyon energy field that had intersected them and caused them to crash.

"What is its source?" Janeway asked standing to her feet and facing him.

"It is one of the water borne vessels directly outside our shields. The transmission doesn't appear to be a two way communication, but instead a recorded message."

"I guess they aren't sure if there is anyone here to make a response." Chakotay said from ops.

"Put the message on screen." Janeway ordered as she turned to face the view screen. It flickered for a second and then stabilized.

The face that was now on the screen was almost human in appearance, but there were a few differences. Janeway suspected the face was that of a male but couldn't be sure, for all she knew this species had one gender, or perhaps even fifty.

The pupils in his eyes were purple. His skin was a greyish white with hues of darker grey where the facial bones were more prominent. There was also a tint of blue in the grey and white skin tones, which led her to wonder what color their blood was. Another difference was his hair which was a light blue with a few areas of white near the sides.

"I am the appointed leader of this planet, my name is Wro. We are unsure if you can understand our language, but in hopes that you can we are sending this following message. We the people of the planet Fra, welcome you here in hopes of peace. First let me say we are deeply sorry that we have confined your lost ship that crashed here so long ago. We hope this fact does not damage any possibilities of us becoming friends. Also we are transmitting the specifications of our communication technology in hopes for a response, or even live communications contact. We hope for your response. May the spirits of the past guide you."

"That is the end of the message captain." Tuvok said when the screen went blank, "As he said, they have sent the specifications for their communications systems, the computer has translated their written language and we can now respond to their message, shall I open a channel?"

"No, send this message, text only in their language, Thank you for welcoming us to you planet, We will contact you with a live connection shortly." Janeway said, "Don't include any other information... not until we find out what crashed ship he was talking about."

"The message has been sent, and they have received it." Tuvok said.

"Now, scan for any traces of technology that are beyond their current capabilities." Janeway said sitting in her chair once again.

"A complete scan of this side of the planet will take four hours thirty two minutes. Beginning scans." Tuvok said, and then looked up after only a few seconds, "I have already detected such a device. It is located on the nearby continent, and is in motion. It has the configuration of a tricorder, but of a design the computer has no match for. It appears to be in close proximity of one of the indigenous life forms. Someone seems to be carrying it."

"Keep a lock on that device's whereabouts and continue your scans for the other ship." Janeway ordered.


	9. Book 1 : Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**  
_The Device_

Sil walked quickly across the square towards the military side of the base, under her arm she carried a bio hazard container. As she approached the entrance to the military area, a guard moved to stop her.

"I'm sorry, but this area is off limits to non-military personnel." he said unholstering his energy pistol.

"I am under orders of Chief of Defense Tok himself, I am to bring this alien device in for decontamination. This container won't protect us from the radiation for very long, so unless you want to lose all of your hair, you'd better stand aside." Sil said with as serious a look on her face as she could muster.

The guard looked uneasy about what she had said and also looked as if he was unsure as what to do. Sil knew he would try to call Tok to confirm the order, so she took the container and held it up in front of her.

"Here, you can take it if you want, although I wouldn't suggest you shake it to much, it may explode. After all, it is from an alien ship, and who knows what its purpose may be." Sil said, and purposely shook it a little.

"No, that won't be necessary, go through, and make sure you get that locked away the best you can, I don't want to be responsible for a radiation leak." The guard said waving her through, trying to stay away from the container. Sil walked on, surprised her plan had worked.

She laughed inwardly to herself, for she had actually told the truth about what was in the container, as it did contain an alien device. Although the part about radiation was a lie, in fact, they had determined years ago the device was a scanning instrument, and was quite harmless.

She had made a quick stop to the lab where they kept the device, and had used her security clearance to access it. She had told her assistant she was transferring the device to a more secure area, since the aliens may be coming for it. She was surprised he let her take it so easily, even though she was lead scientist in the astero sector, for the device was a marvel to the science community.

They had been able to backwards engineer some of the components and had created their own scanners with the same principle. But without more of the elements found in the device, they couldn't produce a scanner that had the same accuracy.

Sil peered around a corner and saw two soldiers conversing. She couldn't get past them without being seen, so she found her way between two hangers, bypassing the two soldiers completely.

Once on the other side, she looked for the building that looked the least important. She knew Tok would never keep anything important in a building anyone could tell actually held something important. She knew how he thought, so she looked for the smallest least guarded one.

After she looked for a few moments, almost being seen twice, she found a small building with no windows and only one door. There were no soldiers guarding it, and Sil knew this had to be it. When the coast was clear, she opened the door and went inside.

Before her, a staircase descended into the darkness. She opened the bio hazard container and pulled out a small hand light, then she pulled out the alien device and put it in her pocket.

Quickly stashing the bio hazard container in the darkness of a corner, she turned on the light and started to descend the staircase.

She pushed further into the darkness for almost a full minute. When she reached the bottom, she found herself facing a solid blast door with a code panel on the side. She pulled out the alien device and aimed it at the code panel. Flipping it open to activate it, she then pressed a key on the devices surface. It made a few beeps and then displayed the code she would need to open the door.

Marvelous device. It had translated her language and displayed the correct sequence in a matter of moments. She wondered if Tok had known what it was capable of when he had handed it over to the scientists ten solar passes ago.

The large door opened loudly and Sil hoped no one would hear it. She passed underneath the raising foot thick door, and entered the room behind it.  
She scanned her light beam around the large room so she could get a bearing on her surroundings. The walls looked to have amiana matting on them, which was a very coarse material that prevented most kinds of signal waves to penetrate.

The floors were smooth and reflective, and the ceiling was high above her, which she estimated was at least seven stories up.

In the center of the massive room was a large object, which took up most of the room itself. It was shaped unlike anything she had ever seen before. She looked up as she passed underneath it. It had four massive anti-gravity generators beneath it, which hummed slightly as they seemed to be holding it aloft above the floor.

The large object had no markings on its surface as she could see, and its surface was a dull grey. Slowly, she reached her hand up to touch it at its lowest point, but her hand struck a form of barrier.

She reflexively pulled her hand back as barrier came into focus all around the whole of the object and then faded away again.

Sil looked down at her hand. It hadn't hurt, in fact, the barrier had seemed more solid than it did electrical. But she wasn't about to touch it again.  
She again pulled the alien device from her pocket, and held it above her, near the barrier, when she did the scanner made the same beeping it had before.

She pulled it down again to look at the display. On its small screen, was a diagram of the object above her, with an outline around it. It displayed an unknown writing. Below the image, a new touch button had appeared.

She touched it.

The Barrier above her shimmered into full view once more and then vanished yet again.

Sil wondered if it had been deactivated, or if she had just made it become visible for a moment. She slowly reached up once more and this time made contact with the surface of the object.

It was warm.

She then saw the room around her begin to shimmer.


	10. Book 1 : Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**  
_Belly Of The Beast_

One moment she had been in the hanger below the object, and another moment she didn't know where she was. It was terribly dark, but she could feel her hand light still firmly in her grip. But it seemed to have gone dead.

The only other source of light she had, was the small screen on the alien scanning device in her other hand. But it was only providing a dim glow, which wasn't enough to make out her surroundings. She didn't want to hazard a try to move from where she was standing with no way of seeing her footing. For all she knew, she was surrounded by deep chasms.

She held the scanner in front of her, screen out, and moved it around to try to illuminate her surroundings more, but it still wasn't enough. She decided the light beacon wouldn't be of any more use, so she bent over and slid it along the floor in a random direction. It made a skidding noise for a few feet, so she knew the floor directly before her was solid.

Then it hit something metal. She began to take slow steps forward in the same direction she had slid the dead light.

Her heart was beating rapidly. If it was one thing she hated the most, it was not knowing where she was.

The glow from the device reflected on a surface in front of her as she moved. She could now make out that a wall was in front of her, and when she reached it, she put her hand on it. It was warm, just like the outside of the object had been. She then realized that she must have been moved inside of it somehow, but she hadn't been absolutely sure until now.

"Hello?" She said, hoping for, and dreading a response at the same time.

A few seconds passed and a small light across the room blinked on, it looked like a console of some kind.

"Language analyzed and accepted, Please state request." A female voice said from all around her.

Sil had almost jumped off her feet from surprise, but managed to stay firmly planted on the floor. Request? What kind of request was the voice asking for? She thought for a moment about what to say.

"A light would be nice."

"Normal illumination is not possible in power saving mode, activating emergency lighting," The voice said calmly.

And just like the voice promised, dim lighting came on around the room. Sil took in her now illuminated surroundings.

The color of the room was a greyish white and looked to be extremely dusty. The room had only two prominent objects in it, a console protruding from the far wall which had a large blank screen above it, and a large chair in the center of the room which was facing the screen. From what she could tell, there was no way to leave the room, no doors were in sight. If there was a door, it was blended so well with the walls that it was impossible to find with the naked eye.

She bent and picked up her hand light, which was laying at her feet. After a try or two to turn it on, she discovered it still didn't work.  
"Alien technology analyzed, no harmful uses found, reactivating device functionality." The voice said.

In her hand, the light flickered on, temporarily blurring her vision. She had been looking directly at the lens when it had been reactivated.

"Thank you, although it doesn't do me a lot of good now." She said purely irritated. She had realized the voice she was hearing was that of a computer or artificial intelligence.

"Your welcome. Inquiry, would you like to cancel power saving mode?" The voice asked, "Backup power reserves have returned to normal levels since power saving program was activated.

"Power saving mode?" Sil said out loud to herself.

"Would you like to cancel power saving mode?" The voice asked again, "Back up power reserves have returned to normal ..."

Sil interrupted "No, stay at this power mode until further notice."

"Affirmative." The voice replied, and Sil thought this whole situation was turning out to be easy enough.

She had been afraid that whatever beings had created this, what she now knew must be a vessel, were hostile, as Tok had feared. But now she dismissed the possibility. The computers voice seemed too cordial to be created by anyone dangerous.

She moved to the chair and ran her hand across the material, which turned out to be very soft, but sturdy at the same time. She noticed the chair was a size that could most likely accommodate the females of her species, but the males would have trouble getting comfortable, as they were shorter in height.

"Warning, Proximity alert, life forms detected within twenty meters of the ship." The voice said. "Reactivating shields at highest possible percentile."

Sil made a mental note, that the barriers were called shields. She was amazed at the efficiency of the computer to which she was now speaking.

"Can you show me these life forms somehow?" she asked looking around, not sure if she was supposed to address a specific location to talk to the computer. After a few seconds the screen on the wall began to glow, and then displayed the large room outside the craft.

There, Tok was being followed by the guard that she had tricked at the military entrance. Beside Tok was the Leader.

Wro didn't look happy at all, in fact, he appeared to be yelling at Tok.

"Is there a way you can let me hear what they are saying?" Sil asked slowly seating herself into the chair in the center of the room.

"-o excuses Tok, you should have let the council know about this when you found it ten solar passes ago. And you should have given more than just that small device to the science sector, they may have had more luck than you getting this craft open." Wro yelled.

Sil grinned at what he had said, Leader Wro was after all right about that. She had been more successful at getting into the ship. And the device Tok had given the scientists had actually been how she did it.

"I'm sorry Leader, It was important not to let anyone else know, there was the possibility of subterfuge." Tok said and then looked to his left at the soldier who had followed him, "and it seems the Head of Astero Sciences Sil, may be in this facility somewhere."

"She's probably just doing what you should have done, if you find her I want to speak to her personally. The alien craft in the harbor has responded to our communique in a short text message. They want to open communications, and I want Sil to be the one to talk to them. She was the one who detected the alien ship. And she has very high marks in the fields of math and science, which the aliens will probably understand the most. After all, science and mathematics could be considered a universal language." Wro said as he looked up at the ship in front of him.

When Sil heard this she nearly fell out of the chair. Wro was actually taking her expertise over Tok's, and even Ret's. She was equally surprised to hear the use of the word universal in Wro's statement, as before today, no one had really used that word in normal conversation in almost four thousand years. The field had seen to that. Most had forgotten that there was even a universe out there, but many in the field of science and religious sectors weren't that forgetful.

"Ok, I've heard enough. Thank you." She said.

"Deactivating external sound. Your welcome. Would you like to view ships status?" The voice asked cordially.

"Yes, please." Sil said, and the screen changed once more, this time to display an image of the ship. Sil could now see its shape was that of an oblong with two long objects horizontally attached to either side.

The Language displayed on the screen was unreadable, but she saw a small area of the ship was colored in green.

"What does this color represent?" She asked pointing to the green section, and then wondered if the computer would see her action.

"That section of the ship is where you are currently located." The voice replied.

"And where is this, I mean, what is this room?"

"You are currently located on the bridge."

Sil looked around once more, it seemed rather small to be a command center, perhaps there was more to the room than she was seeing.

"What is this ship called, and where is it from?"

"This is the Vessel, _Causality_, Registry number, NX-32. This vessel was launched on Universal Date 2378.0817 from the planet Mars, located in the Alpha Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy." The computer replied.

The names and labels in this log were definitely not of Frain origin and Sil didn't know most of the terms. Milky Way galaxy, Alpha Quadrant were most likely place names, just unknown to her. But the word planet she did know, and the planet Mars sounded fascinating because it was another planet with intelligent life. And those intelligent life forms were beings who could create technology superior to their own.

"How did this ship get here?"

"Temporal encryption failure, reviewing information. This ship is equipped with a temporal momentum drive, after being activated, the causality traveled through time and space and arrived at its current location. However, upon reaching its destination an unknown occurrence caused the Causality to travel back in time four thousand four hundred and ten years and crash on the surface of this planet."

"Four thousand years, "Sil said, now knowing that this ship had crashed almost around the same period the field had appeared around their solar system. "Why was the Causality coming here in the first place?"

"Temporal encryption failure. Mission report so states, the Captain of the causality ordered the activation of the ships temporal drive system upon orders from Admiral Kino Fran, and the causality was brought to 2003.0513, in orbit around the planet earth. The mission in that time period was successfully completed, The Captain then ordered another jump to 2378.0817, location, Delta Quadrant, to rendezvous with the starship Voyager."

Sil's eyes widened, all this information about time travel was amazing. But what was the Causality's mission?

"What..." she began to ask, but behind Sil, a stream of sparks suddenly spat from the wall, and then just as quickly stopped.

"Warning, systems have experienced degradation from time spent in power saving mode."

"Degradation? " Sil asked standing upright looking over at the smoking hole in the wall.

"Diagnostics show that computer systems have been damaged, eighty-four percent of memory retrieval circuits have been fused and are offline until repairs can be made. Temporal encryption failure, Ships systems were not designed to be active for such a long duration without maintenance."

"Let me guess, I suppose all the relative information to this ships mission on Fra are now irretrievable."

"Affirmative."

Sil had no idea what to do next. She could go on asking the computer questions for a while longer and hope that not all the information was out of reach, but she knew she had a duty to her people. And the Leader wanted her to be the one to talk to the aliens on the other craft. She decided to ask the computer a few more questions and then find a way to return to the exterior of the causality.

"What is the name of the species who ran this ship? Sil asked, curious about that detail, which might help her when the time came to talk to the aliens.

"Ships complement is currently composed of multiple species, these races are thirteen humans, one cardassian, two klingons, two betazoids, four ferengi, four vulcans, and two crew members are half human-half klingon. Total ships compliment is currently twenty nine, comprised of the prior listed twenty eight crewman, and one human passenger."

"You mean the crew compliment was twenty nine, I do believe you have to recalculate your current data..." Sil said.

Was it possible the computer hadn't taken into consideration that the crew had died almost four thousand years ago? Perhaps the degradation had effected the ships computer as well as the memory banks.

"Reconfirming data... proximity to unknown material is preventing scanners from retrieving long range scan data, adjusting scanners for full strength, scattering material bypassed..."said the computer, and then there was an extremely long pause.


	11. Book 1 : Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**  
_Not Alone_

"Captain, I'm detecting a scan emanating from the nearby continent, it is scanning the entire planet, including us, our shields are not protecting us from it." Tuvok said manipulating controls on his console.

"How can a scan from the planet be able to bend around the planet like that, when line of sight is causing our scans to only reach this side of it." Janeway asked standing to her feet.

"It appears the scan was reflected off multiple satellites in orbit."

"Can't we do the same thing?" Tom asked turning in his chair. Janeway knew he felt fairly useless, since he was a pilot, on a half-submerged immobile ship. And until repairs were done, the temporal anomalies were located and first contact was made, they would be going nowhere.

"No, doing that may give the people on this planet the wrong impression. We wouldn't want them thinking we were trying to sabotage their technology." Chakotay said from Ops.

"Captain, the scan has what looks like a Federation signature." Tuvok said looking up at the captain, "it has a few differences, but it is definitely of Federation make."

"What?" she said, barely able to make the word audible.

"I believe that Wro was correct in stating that one of our ships was lost here." Tuvok said.

"How is that possible, could the caretaker have pulled more federation ships than just Voyager and the Equinox to the delta quadrant?" Janeway asked.

The Equinox had also been stranded in the Delta Quadrant, but at a different time than Voyager. The two ships had come across each other and they had thought it was a good omen, since two ships stood better chances in a fight.

But Janeway had found that the equinox crew had been murdering innocent aliens to power an engine that they had designed so they could get home faster. In the end Janeway had allowed the aliens, that the equinox crew had been murdering, to destroy the ship to get their much wanted revenge. She had saved what remaining crew was left on the ship before it was destroyed, however the captain of the Equinox decided to go down with his ship.

And now this, the possibility of another Federation starship, and on this planet. Had they not crashed here they wouldn't have even detected this other ship. Janeway couldn't help but think how lucky they were to be so unlucky.

"It is entirely possible Captain, or they could have come through an Iconian gateway when they had been open. Many other occurrences could explain this ships presence here." Tuvok said, as he ran his hands across his console.

"Can we transport to the origin of the scan?" Janeway asked.

"I am unable to read a ship, crashed or otherwise at the source of the scan, which has now ceased. The scan originated from what appears to be an underground bunker, and I am unable to get any readings from inside. I should make note that this is the same location we last had the reading on the device we were tracking. There definitely seems to be something blocking our scans." Tuvok reported, "However we could transport outside of the bunker and find a way in on foot."

"Would we be detected?" Janeway asked.

"There are multiple life signs moving about the area, anyone beaming in would be seen almost immediately." Chakotay said from operations.

"Then we'll have to wait." Janeway said, "We'll make first contact in two hours, but first I need to go over a few of the protocols again. You have the bridge Chakotay." And with that she walked off the bridge into her ready room.

* * *

"Data now readjusted and confirmed, two life signs detected on board, the Causality crew is not within scanning range." The computer finally said.  
"Two life signs?" Sil said, she quickly rose to her feet, straightened and looked around quickly. Was it possible someone could have survived inside this ship for four thousand years?

"What are the species of the life signs onboard?"

"Life signs read as one Frain, and one Human."

"I guess that means one of the life signs is me."

"Affirmative."

"I was talking to myself." Sil said, slightly frustrated with the computers constant answering of even obvious questions. She decided to ask a real question.

"Where is the other life sign right now?"

"The human life sign is located in the cargo bay, located here." the computer said. The map of the ship appeared once more on the screen, which was flickering now, since systems on the ship were failing.

The cargo bay wasn't far from the bridge, and she looked over the route to get there, now she just needed a door.

"Can I leave this room please." She asked, and after a moment a door slowly opened behind her, dust fell from it as it moved. Sil had no idea if she would be able to ask the computer for anything else when she left this room, but she had to see if she could find the other life form.

She could possibly actually come face to face with an alien, and it excited her greatly. A human, from the planet Mars. Or was it from another planet, after all, the computer had said the ships crew was of many species. Did they all come from Mars, or did they each have their own home elsewhere?

As she exited the bridge, the lights in the corridor lit, although still dimly while in power saving mode. From the map that had been displayed, she knew how to get to the cargo bay, so she turned left down the corridor. The door to the bridge closed behind her.

The corridor was the same color as the bridge, and was just as dusty. However, here she could see the outlines of more doors in the walls. Ahead of her at the end of the hall was a much larger door, clearly the door to the cargo bay.

On the door more alien markings were displayed, she guessed they meant cargo bay or something along those lines. Next to the door was a panel, and it was completely black.

She reached to touch it, as she did the screen lit up displaying a few of what she guessed were buttons. Sil wiped the dust from the panel so she could see it better, and then pushed the largest button.


	12. Book 1 : Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**  
_Inside_

"Hold still Seven," said the holographic doctor, which had become less of just a hologram and more of a friend and companion.

Harry watched as the Doctor raised his medical tricorder to Seven of Nine's forehead. "This won't hurt a bit."

Harry had originally been sent there to undergo a few scans to verify that he was physically ok after the incident on the bridge, but on his way to sick bay, when Voyager had crashed, he had procured a nasty cut on his forehead as he fell into a bulkhead during impact.

The Doctor had dermal regenerated his wound and then proceeded to scan his body. Scans in which he had found traces of tachyon residue. Tachyons, which were slightly less compact than chronotons were normally energy based, and the fact he had a liquid form of the substance on his clothes just made Harry worry a bit more about the situation.

"So, what happened in the mess hall?" Harry asked from his bio-bed. Seven had been told to sit on the bed next to his, while the doctor assessed her implants.

She had entered sickbay only moments before, in the middle of sentence, one which she was making a report to the Captain about the mess hall via her com-badge. She had then told the Doctor she experienced a loss of focus in the turbo-lift and wondered if her implants were the cause..

"There seemed to be a temporal loop in progress." Seven replied looking over at him. She arched her brow and then continued. "However, it seemed confined to that section, there's nothing to worry about."

"Who said I was worried?" Harry said sitting up strait to feign sturdiness the best he could. He had been getting better at controlling his uneasiness. His experience while captaining the _nightingale_, however short the command was, had helped him in overcome many of his faults.

"In the turbo lift, you say you felt as if you were trapped?" the Doctor asked, ignoring the fact that Harry and Seven were having a conversation while he worked, and was now scanning the other side of Seven's forehead.

"Yes, I felt as if I couldn't get out, and I didn't belong there."

"I see, one of your cortical implants seems to be out of alignment, simple to fix." The Doctor said putting down the tricorder and picking up another medical tool. Harry had seen him use the same tool to align her implants before, many years ago, when she had first come aboard.

"I believe it to be more than that Doctor, it wasn't just a feeling, but also thoughts that I experienced, and I don't think they were mine." Seven said as the Doctor finished aligning the out of sync borg implant.

"It's entirely possible, given the number of telepathic aliens we've encountered in the past. Perhaps you should report this incident to the captain as well." The Doctor said.

When he heard this, Harry shifted uncomfortably. He remembered the large pitcher plant like alien cloud that had devoured Voyager and had made its crew believe they had made it home to earth, just so it would have time to digest them.

"I believe I will Doctor, Will there be anything else?"

"Your all set." he said smiling at her as she stood to leave, "and remember, a hypospray a day keeps the doctor away."

"Am I all done too, Doc?" Harry asked impatiently.

He wanted to get back to the bridge, to help out however he could. He always felt most fulfilled when faced with a challenge he had to solve. Although it also tended to make him worry more than normal.

"No, I still have to do a complete cellular scan to see if there is any tachyon residue present in your bloodstream or internal organs."

"Oh, is that all?" Harry asked sarcastically, and then smiled his 'I'm not to thrilled about this' smile.

* * *

Sil breathed in deeply once to calm herself.

After the large cargo bay door had risen, the panel she had used to open it went dark once more, like it had been for four thousand years.

Sil slowly stepped forward into the dimly lit cargo bay, and took in her new surroundings. The cargo bay was larger than the bridge, almost three times larger in fact, and it had a twice as high ceiling. There were crates and barrels of all sizes about the room, some were on the floor, where they had come to rest in what must have been the crash that brought this ship here, and others were still securely stacked.

Other than the large stacking shelves on either side of the bay, there was only one other noticeable thing in the room. Almost partly inside the rear wall, and partly leaning against it were two extremely large objects. They almost looked like machinery of some kind. Both were the same size, with rectangular shape on the leaning bases, and the tops came to a curve around the front.

"Where is the life sign?" Sil asked from where she now stood. She had come to a stop in the middle of the room and was facing the rear of the room where the tubes were..

"Life form is three meters straight ahead," the computer said. Sil was glad the computer was able to hear her in this location, and that it was still active at all, as the ships component degradation would probably soon affect the computer as well.

She stepped forward once more, and came closer to the two objects. Between the two large constructions was a panel, but it wasn't black like the door panel had been.

This one displayed two separate information displays. The display on the left was showing a quickly flashing alien word in red writing.  
ERROR

She had no idea what the alien writing meant so she looked to the other side of the panel. The display on the right had a constant alien word written in green.

ACTIVE

The right also had a blue flashing button on the bottom of the panel, while the left side only had a greyed out, solid one.  
She pressed the blue flashing button.

The panel display changed to that of another alien word, and then the device on the right released a vaporous cloud, which looked slightly like steam, from a now growing opening at the top. Sil stepped back. She wondered what she had done now, and whether or not it had been the right choice.

The top and what could be considered the front of the device, slowly slid down into the floor. Inside, when some of the vapor had cleared, Sil saw her first alien.

It's eyes were closed, and she could see it was breathing, however slowly.

It's skin was unlike any color skin she had ever seen, that of the color of sand on a beach. It's hair was light brown, and she had only known younger Frain to purposely adorn their hair that same color to be rebellious, although she assumed this was this beings natural hair color.

She guessed It was a male from his appearance, for his bone structure was strangely very similar to that of a Frain male. In fact, except for the color of his skin and hair, he could have passed as a Frain. Although he was also much taller than any male Frain.

The human's arm moved slightly and Sil stepped back. She had been anticipating this moment, but suddenly she felt uneasy. She quickly looked around to see if she could find some type of weapon to defend herself if need be, but she found none.

The panel flashed a blue alien word.

COMPLETE

Then the panel went black. Sil waited a moment, and then leaned in close to get a better look at his face.

"Are you ...ok?" she asked, almost in a whisper, her voice not cooperating, due to either fear or excitement, or maybe even both.

"Mff..." the human said, or rather made the sound.

"Does that mean yes?" Sil asked, peering even closer.

"No, It means my head is killing me." he said suddenly and clearly. Sil was surprised because he had said it in her language, but then she realized the computer must have translated for them.

He made a motion of trying to sit up, and she reached inside and grabbed his arm to help him. It was when her hand touched his arm that he opened his eyes.


	13. Book 1 : Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**  
_Awakening_

His head pounded, and his body ached all over. The last thing he could recall was ... school, he had been in the auditorium reading the article on the Millennium Gate. Now he heard an angelic voice waking him, and he felt someone grab his arm.

He forced his eyes open, and he could only see a blur at first, one of the figure of someone in front of him. He raised his left hand and rubbed his other arm with it, it felt like he hadn't used it in ages, and the same went for his whole body, including his eyes.

After a moment his vision became less blurry, and he turned again to focus on the person in front of him.

He froze, what he saw he hadn't expected. A woman, but she was almost purely grey, and her hair was the purest white he had ever seen, her eyes were a bright blue.

Before his mind had a chance to process what he was seeing, she blinked, and he noticed her eyes had changed, and were now yellow. His mind raced, his heart followed, and he felt completely lost as to what was happening, what had happened, and what was about to happen.

"What..." he started, slightly stammering, "I mean... who...who are you?" he asked still not moving a muscle. He wasn't sure if he was able. He was in to much of a state of shock.

"I am known as Sil, who are you?" She replied, blinking once more, her eyes changing again to that of a different color, this time a light green.  
He thought a moment, whomever and whatever she was she seemed as lost in wonder as much as he did. This calmed him a bit. He then decided it would be best to respond to her question.

"Well, my name is Christopher but most people just call me Chris for short." he said slowly moving his right hand to grasp the side of the compartment he had found himself inside. He started to lean forward, "Where am I, and what is this thing I'm in?"

"Well I'm not sure exactly what this is, but your on a ship called the Causality, do you recall that name?" she asked.

"Causality?" Chris said to himself.

At that moment, his mind exploded. Or to be more exact, his thoughts did. He saw images of the past, but oddly he didn't recognize any of them. For a moment he tried to grasp at a few as they raced by in his mind, but they passed on. He couldn't make sense of any of it, it began to cause his head to pound. Then, In his mind one word stood out clearly, and that word was a name.

Tobias.

His gaze twisted out of his control and he was now peering up at the ceiling. No, he quickly realized, he had fallen out of the tube and onto the floor, and was now laying flat on his back. It felt as if he had been hit by a bus. The grey woman who had called herself Sil was over him and was saying something, but he couldn't hear her past all the images and words flooding his mind.

But suddenly, after another moment, the pain subsided and the thoughts ceased as quickly as they had begun.

He slowly sat up and looked around.

"What happened, are you alright?" she asked, sounding worried.

"I'm fine now, but my mind was full of images... I couldn't make any sense of it." he said and then he looked at her again, and tried to determine what she could possibly be. "Are you an angel?"

"What's an angel?" she asked, now kneeling beside him.

"Well, it's a spiritual being who protects the living, and brings them to their final place of eternal life." he said not moving his gaze from her now white eyes.

"You want to know if I'm a spirit?" Sil asked as her cheeks turned a light blue, it almost looked as if she was blushing, "How could you have mistaken me for a spiritual being? I am just a simple Frain."

"Frain? He asked still looking deeply into her eyes completely lost in the wonder of her.

"We are the species that live on the planet Fra, which is the planet where you are now."

"Planet Fra?" Chris said, snapping back into reality. Barely forming the words, his eyes widened. "We're not on Earth?"

"No." she said looking at him as if she didn't understand how he didn't know he was on a different planet.

Chris became worried, he didn't know how he had gotten to another planet, and how he had ended up talking to what he now knew was an alien. He had wanted to eventually meet an alien in his lifetime, but not this soon. He wanted to join the Millennium gate project, and perhaps in the near future meet an alien, after he had a chance to plan to do so, but this was so sudden.

"How did I get here?" he asked, purely confused.

"You don't know?" She asked, "I was going to ask you the same thing. You see, this craft was found ten years ago by the military here on Fra, and it appears to have been here for four thousand four hundred years according to the computer. I just finally figured out how to get inside today and I found you inside that tube."

"Four thousand... four hundred years?" he whispered, his voice cracking slightly. "How is that possible...I would be dead."

She stood and made her way around him and began to look at the tube he had just emerged from. "Perhaps this tube is some sort of stasis device, and it sustained you all this time."

"Stasis pod...four thousand... years..." he whispered to himself, his hands were shaking slightly. She must have noticed because the next thing he knew she was crouched beside him and had reached her own hand over and touched his skin. Out of reaction he pulled his hand back, and then looked her in her color changing eyes.

"What are you going to do to me?"

"I'm not going to do anything to you, ...but I will try to help you find out what has happened and how you got here." she said again reaching for his hands, this time he let her grasp them. Her hands were warm, but his were still trembling. "Are you cold?"

"No, I'm just in a bit of a shock, I've never met an alien before." he said while looking down at their hands.

"Well, if it means anything, I haven't either." she said and he looked up to see her smiling. Hearing that she was new to all this as well, made him feel a bit more comfortable, but still there remained an uneasiness with the whole circumstance.

"Am, I what you expected?" he asked looking down at their hands once more, "...your much prettier than I imagined an alien would be."

Again Sil smiled and she flushed blue once more. "No, you are not what I expected."

A few moments passed and Chris started to feel a kind of apprehension, but it was almost beyond, or perhaps, outside the current situation. He felt as if, something was about to happen.

"Warning, Primary systems are failing." a voice said from all round. Startled, Chris quickly climbed to his feet.

"Who is that?" he asked as he looked around to see no one nearby. He still needed time to cope with all that was happening, he didn't need something else making things worse.

"It's the ships computer, it helped me find you." Sil said. "It seems four thousand years has had its toll on this ship."

Sil started to walk toward the a large door on the opposite side of the large room.

"Where are you going?" Chris asked following her as he looked about him cautiously.

"To the bridge to find out how much time we have left before the ship stops operating, come with me." Sil said as she turned to face him, she then held out her hand.

He paused, but then she smiled, and he took her hand.

She led him out of the large room and into a long corridor.


	14. Book 1 : Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**  
_Friends and Enemies_

Tok was furious, he knew Sil was in the restricted area somewhere, but he couldn't find her. He had no intention of letting her leave and make the first contact with the aliens. She didn't deserve that right, he did. He would force them to tell him the real reason for their coming to Fra, which he knew had to be conquest. And he would be ready for them.

In front of him the large craft they had discovered buried in the Yan Glacier range ten years before was being raised out of the hanger. It was being held in place by anti-gravity gyros underneath its base, which was required since no contact with the ships surface by lifts or supports could be made. Some sort of protective barrier was surrounding the vessel, not unlike the new ship in the harbor.

But now he would once and for all find a way to gain access to this crafts technology and use it against the newcomers.

"Prepare to fire." he ordered, and the twelve soldiers behind him raised their energy rifles, which were stronger than the one handed blasters most of his men carried, but much heavier.

Over the solar cycles they had tried different techniques to open the craft, but they had all failed, the only things they hadn't tried was a direct assault, or explosives since they hadn't wanted to damage the ship and its wondrous technology. But Tok didn't care any more, he would get through the barrier around this craft, and when he did, he would then use whichever tactic that worked on the newly crashed ship as well.

"Fire!"

The sound of multiple rifles firing at once drowned out any other sound that could have been heard and the air took on a burnt smell. The crafts barrier flickered into view, and absorbed every shot.

"Cease firing, raise the plasma rockets into firing position." Tok yelled and moved to a safe distance. About ninety yards away was a land vehicle with a plasma rocket launcher on its cargo platform. These plasma rockets were the newest weapons to be added to Tok's arsenal and this would be their first real test.

"Fire!"

A rocket flashed into view and screamed through the air, and in less then a second impacted the craft. This time the craft tilted with the impact and the barrier seemed to stress from the blast. The anti-gravity gyros began to compensate and after a moment righted the ship once more.

Tok was on the ground. The shockwave was much stronger then he had realized it would be, and he was impressed at the rockets capabilities. He amended his earlier thoughts, scientists did have one good reason for being, to make him newer and better weapons.

Climbing to his feet, he pulled his energy pistol from his belt, and fired one shot at the craft. It hit the surface of the ship without intersecting with the barrier and made a small burn scar on the up until now flawless grey surface.

He had done it, now all he had to do was make a door.

* * *

Sil was on the floor, and beside her, so was the alien, Chris. She quickly climbed to her feet and rubbed her side. They had been in the corridor about to enter the bridge, when the whole ship shook violently to one side. The dim lighting had gone out, and then flickered back on.

" .ng shields... ha.e failed." the computer said almost unrecognizable.

"How did they fail?" Sil asked as she looked over at Chris who seemed to be thinking a distant thought.

"Shields were not operating at full capacity when impact was registered, degradation has greatly effected shield efficiency.

"Can you restore the shields?" Sil asked as she entered the bridge with Chris following slowly behind her.

"Unable to comply, circuits have been fused, backup power will fail in five hours forty seven minutes."

From all around them the sound of banging metal was heard. Someone was tying to get in.

"What's going on?" Chris asked, he still looked a bit out of place.

"It's probably the military trying to gain access to the ship." she said giving him a grave look. "I was hoping we would get out before they would be able to get in. They will probably lock me up for being here, and they wont look kindly upon you...they may think you're a hostile alien."

Sil noticed that Chris suddenly seemed to sober up to the situation, he looked around intently, and then said, "Well, then lets get out of here."

Sil nodded in agreement, and moved over to the console on the wall, and spoke towards it. "Computer, is there any way off of the ship?"

"Negative, Transporters are offline. All escape pod launchers are offline." the computer droned, then the lighting in the room changed from a dim yellow to a more prominent dim red. "Red alert, ship is being boarded, alien weaponry detected, unable to deactivate weaponry."

"Well guess that means it is the military." Sil said, disappointed that she had been right.

"Will they shoot on sight?" Chris asked as he moved to stand beside her.

"I'm not really sure."

"Maybe we can get by them somehow. Get out through the same hole they are entering, it may be the only way. What do you think?" Chris suggested.

"It's risky, but it may be our only chance." Sil said as she looked him in the eye. "Computer, show us the location of the boarding hostiles?"

On the screen in front of them, the shape of the Causality appeared, Chris looked to be in awe at the size of the ship. Sil looked at where the military was entering the ship, and at where Chris and she stood currently, they were very close to each other.

"They are too close, we would never get by them.

"Then there is nothing we can..." Chris began to say but was cut short by the sound of footsteps from the corridor outside the bridge. Sil pulled Chris behind her, and stood ready to face the judgment she knew was coming.

A few soldiers came into view and quickly entered the bridge holding their plasma rifles at the ready, then trained them onto Sil and her companion. A gasp was heard from one of the men, apparently shock from seeing an alien, and another motioned for him to be quiet and to hold his ground.

"What is your intention." Sil asked. Holding an arm to her side to keep herself between them and Chris.

"You protect the hostile then?" a familiar voice said from the corridor. As he slowly stepped into view, Sil noticed Tok seemed to be smiling. "I had a feeling you were under their influence. Step away from the alien, Now!"

"He is not a hostile, he means you no harm."

"Oh, really?" Tok said disdainfully to Sil while keeping his full attention on Chris.

"You have no understanding of who he is or why he's here, your just assuming the worst, like you always do, Tok!" Sil said angrily.

"I don't have time for this, Shoot her and take the alien alive." Tok said waving his hand in front of him.

"Wait!" Chris yelled before the men could follow the order. "I will cooperate if you spare her."

Tok stepped forward and frowned, "So you speak, and in our language, how much easier it will be to get all the information I need from you. Pity"

"I don't know much about where I am, or anything about what is going on, but if it will help in any way, I will tell you what I know. I have no reason to lie to you or keep anything from you. But I will only do this if she stays where I can see her to make sure you keep your word." Chris said as he moved in front of Sil and now mimicked her previous movements, but this time he kept her behind him.

Sil was surprised he would protect her like he was, he was a stranger to her, an alien from another planet, but he had moved to protect her even still.

"Chris, don't..." Sil whispered, but was cut short by Tok.

"Fine, take them both. Bring them to the shuttle." Tok said.

Sil was pulled from behind Chris and was held in front of two soldiers beside him, she could see that Chris was calm and stood still as the soldiers decided if he was dangerous. He smiled, stepped forward, and raised his hands in front of him.

"I will offer no resistance, you have no need to forcefully move me, I can walk just fine." He said just as calmly, then he turned and looked at her, "and so can she."

"Fine then, lead them to the shuttle." Tok said and growled.


	15. Book 1 : Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**  
_Last Request_

Chris had no Idea what to expect. He was an alien on another planet, and he knew little about anything that was happening.

As he walked he looked down at his clothes, and found he was still wearing the clothes he had been wearing the last day of school.

Had it really been four-thousand four-hundred years? How far from earth was he now, and did earth even still exist?

But right now he decided he should focus on what was happening. He and his fellow captive, Sil, walked beside one another, being led by two grey men, who were both shorter than Chris, a foot or two shorter from what he could tell. But the weapons they carried, he assumed, made up for their lack of physical bearing.

Also behind them was the one Sil had referred to as Tok, beside Tok was another soldier. And still, both were also shorter than Chris. Sil however was Chris's height and was peering at him as they walked slowly through the ship towards the entrance Tok and his men had made. None spoke a word.

Chris took the time they walked to contemplate a few things. For one, he had surprised himself by standing so calmly and adamantly against the soldiers when his fist instinct was to cower and just do what they said.

As they reached the hole in the hull of the ship, Chris raised his right hand to cover his eyes from the much brighter exterior. Sil did the same, but instead of her right she used her left hand.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chris saw what looked like a tattoo or marking on Sil's raised hand. Although he couldn't make it out in the changing light, he was sure he knew the symbol from somewhere. She lowered her arm again and it was then out of sight, and he put it out of his mind.

Now outside, they descended a ramp and stepped onto a pavement like surface. To either side of the ramp, Chris noticed, were more soldiers peering at him uneasily, holding their weapons at ready. Behind them Tok had reached the bottom of the ramp and had started talking to one of his soldiers.

"Why did you help me?" Sil whispered as she leaned close to him.

"It was just the right thing to do." he replied, " After all you got me out of that stasis pod, who knows how much longer I would have been in there if you hadn't..."

"SILENCE!" Tok yelled looking up from his conversation and over towards the two captives.

Chris could see that Sil was clenching her fists and was resentfully glaring at Tok. Around them, the soldiers had begun to enter the Causality, but the bulk of them had stayed to guard he and Sil.

He looked up. The sky reminded Chris of earths, with white streaming clouds as far as the eye could see. And the trees he could see in the distance all looked familiar, but from this distance he couldn't be entirely sure. A bird was singing somewhere, this however was strange to him, the birds call was so different from those on earth, he couldn't even figure out how to classify the difference.

"Tok! What is the meaning of this!" Someone behind Chris yelled. Both Sil and Chris turned to see who this new angry person was. Sil seemed to recognize him, for when she saw this newcomer, she look relieved.

"Ah, Leader Wro, what a pleasant surprise. I was about to inform you I've captured hostiles." Tok said grinning as he motioned toward them.

"I told you that Sil was not to be charged for trespassing," Wro yelled, and then turned his attention toward Chris, "and this other one, has it shown any aggressive movements?"

"Well not exactly...but..." Tok began to say.

"Well then let them both go, we will not have the first alien race we meet thinking we do not welcome their friendship." Wro said and then stepped toward the two captives. "Sil, can it understand me?"

"Yes Leader, I believe he can, however, now that we're outside the ship I'm not sure how...I thought the computer had been translating for us." Sil said looking over toward Chris with a confused look on her face.

"Ah, then you know that this mans actions do not reflect our views, he acted irresponsibly." Wro said, he stood directly in front of Chris, but had to look up at him when he talked for Wro was even shorter than the others had been.

"No need to apologize, I am a bit out of place myself and am unsure how to react." Chris said, "You see, I myself have never met an alien before."

"He lies!" Tok said, he had stepped closer to the Leader and was now directly behind him. "But in any case Leader, I think its about time I end this... first meeting."

"What are you talking..." Wro started to say but was cut short by a flash of light. Wro's expression changed from wonder to surprise to pain in a matter of seconds. He fell at Chris's feet and peered up at him. Chris and Sil quickly knelt beside him.

"Don't let... him get away...with this..." Wro said with his last breaths as he looked into Chris's eyes.

"You...killed... him." Sil said in disbelief as she looked up from her Leaders body.

"Yes, and I should have done it sooner... he was a horrible Leader, a traitor to the people, and I will make a better leader than this old fool did."

"The people will never follow you once they find out you killed Wro." Sil said once again clenching her fists.

"Oh but don't forget, the only people who know are me, my soldiers, who will follow my orders until the end, and two prisoners who will never again see the dawning of another day." Tok said and again he smiled as he looked up at the sunset. "Take them to the shuttle."

* * *

Captain Janeway was reading over the information they had gathered so far about the planet they now resided on. She had also reviewed their findings on the field they had passed through.

Night had fallen and she had moved into her ready room to prepare for first contact which would take place within the hour. When night fell, the side of the planet they were on faced the barrier and the sky was filled with the magnificent glow of the of it. Not a single star was visible through the colorful display.

As they had discovered, the field encompassed the entire three planet solar system. It reminded her of the galactic barrier that surrounded the galaxy, but on a much smaller scale. However this field or barrier was composed of what could be classified as tachyon particles, yet as Tuvok had said, seemed to contain a form of intelligence.

Tuvok had also been able to scan the ship that Wro had spoke of in his message. It had appeared suddenly outside the bunker where It had been hours before when they had scanned for it. Their scans of the vessel were now displayed on her computer screen.

It was unlike any federation vessel she had ever seen, civilian or military. The technology used to build the ship was definitely Federation, yet more advanced. And a small piece of the vessel was comprised of what looked like borg technology.

Janeway was worried, as any sign of the borg was a bad sign. And with her ship downed and out of commission as of the current state, they wouldn't be able to withstand an attack by the cybernetic menace.

Her ready room door chimed.

"Come" Janeway imparted as she continued looking over the readout displayed on the screen. The automatic doors parted and Chakotay entered.

"Captain, I believe you may find this interesting." he said handing her a padd.

She took the padd from his hand and looked at the information displayed. It was also a schematic of the ship now displayed on her own screen, but a more thoroughly scanned version. The borg technology had been magnified and on the right of the padd's display were the words "Match Found".  
"The computer has confirmed that this part of this ship is comprised of the same type of technology the borg sphere that tried to destroy Zefram Cochrane's First Contact had used."

"That would mean this ship is from a different point in time, and judging from the level of technology, I'd say the future." Janeway said, realizing the implications of this news. "But why would a Federation ship from the future, use borg technology?"

Could the federation of the future have made peace with the borg, or could they have stolen the technology? Whatever the case, the situation had just gotten more complicated. What if they had already somehow changed the future time line by investigating this ships presence. Time travel always made one second guess everything, which was usually a bad idea in itself.

"I'm not sure, but I also think you should see this." he said handing her another padd. "It's the power readouts of that ship, B'Elanna says that the backup power systems aboard are about to fail."

"Then we should act before that happens, we need to see if we can get their logs. Perhaps we should make first contact now. And see if the Frain will permit us to board that ship without contest."

"I had a feeling you would say that, so I ordered Harry to prepare the connection." Chakotay said as Janeway stood. He had guessed her move beforehand, he was getting better at that. After all he had gotten to know her well over seven years.

"Very well, lets get to it." she said with a new sense of urgency and anticipation.

Once on the bridge and in her chair, Janeway made an observance of what was happening around the command center of her ship.

Harry had returned from sickbay with a clean bill of health, and he was hard at work at his station calibrating the communication arrays for first contact with the people of Fra. Tuvok and an ensign were repairing the console that had exploded behind him during the crash. Tom was sitting at conn, calculating trajectories of possible take off for when the time came to do so. Seven was at her post behind Chakotay and Janeway, most likely trying to determine the origin of the borg technology on the mysterious crashed Federation vessel, and Chakotay, who was sitting next to Janeway, seemed lost in a distant thought.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Janeway asked utilizing an antiquated phrase she had heard Tom use a few days before.

"Oh, its nothing... I was just remembering our first contact with a one called Neelix. He did always love first contact situations. It seemed as if he would always be our ambassador to this quadrant."

"I know how you feel, this will be our first, first contact in this quadrant without him. So I say, we dedicate this one to him."

"Hear hear!" Tom said, spinning around. "For Neelix."

Tuvok appeared to also agree, even though she assumed such a sentiment would not sway his emotional force fields. Behind her Seven also seemed very happy to offer a "Hear hear" to the announced dedication.

"Computer, add this to ships log, The first contact with the people of Fra, will be in honor of our friend Neelix. May his journey with us continue in our hearts."

A monitor on Harry's console beeped.

"Captain, I'm happy to report we are being hailed by the Frain." Harry said looking up. It was almost perfect timing.

"They're hailing us?" Chakotay asked, " I thought we we're hailing them?"

"Well, whatever the case, lets do this people. Lets make some new friends. Open the channel Mr. Kim."

Ensign Kims hands glided along his console and the view screen came to life. Now on the screen was a Frain male, of course this was a guess on Janeway's part, as she was still unsure about genders in the Frain society.

His appearance was similar to that which Leader Wro's had been. although his hair was a pure white compared to the leader's white and blue. He also seemed more stern and composed than the leader had been, almost stoic.

"Greetings, I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the United Federation starship Voyager, This is my second officer Commander Chakotay."

The man on the screen just stared at them, she thought she saw disdain in his eyes, but for all she new it was a normal way of looking for these people. After a moment of not speaking the man moved his head to one side and appeared to be thinking about what to say. Janeway decided to continue.

"We are pleased to make your acquaintance. We were happy to receive the message from your Leader Wro."

"You disgust me." the man finally said with pure anger in his voice. "How can you lie so easily, your species must be a foul one indeed."

Janeway's mouth dropped open ever so slightly, but she regained her posture within moments. "I don't understand what you mean."

For a moment Janeway thought she had imagined what he had just said, it seemed so sudden and random.

"Hah!" the man scowled." We are aware of your intentions, Captain Janeway was it? I am Chief of Defense Tok, and I have contacted you to inform you we have taken one of your kind as a prisoner of war."

"One of our...?" Janeway began, now completely befuddled.

"Oh don't deny anything captain, you sent your spy ship here a very long time ago to study us. I don't think you figured we would capture it and its occupant. But we have, and he will give us all the information we need about your invasion, even if I have to force it out of his dying mouth. Be warned captain, any action other than your complete surrender will be considered an act of war. I give you until the sun rises to surrender your ship to us. I tell you now, you picked the wrong planet to try and conquer."

Now this was getting out of hand, he was making no sense, in fact, he was saying almost the complete opposite of what Leader Wro had said.

"Chief of Defense Tok, please understand, we have not come here to..." Janeway again started to say but was cut off with the termination of communication.

"He's closed the link captain." Harry said and a moment of silence covered the bridge.

"What was that all about?" Chakotay said, completely confused and Janeway was right there with him in his confusion.

"I don't know, I was having trouble keeping up myself." Janeway said.

"He said something about one of our kind." Tom said. "Do you think he actually has one of the other ships crew?"

It made sense, after all the other ship hadn't piloted itself. Maybe that crew member had done something to upset the Frain and warrant what Tok had just said.

"Let's find out, Harry, scan for any non-Frain life signs. Find me that person he spoke of." Janeway ordered as she took her seat.

"Aye captain." Harry said, and got right to work. After a few moments, he looked up and said, "Captain, I found him, One human male.

"Can you get a transporter lock on him?" Janeway asked again standing to her feet and facing Harry. She couldn't seem to stay in one place.

"Yes, captain." Harry said.

"Lower the shields and Energize." Janeway said with a smile. Now to get some answers.

She heard Ensign Kim push a few commands on his console. And then she heard him push the same commands again.

"Captain, something is effecting the transporters, every time I try to energize the transporter beam cuts short mid-activation."

"Janeway to engineering, B'Elanna, we're having trouble with the transporters, could you look into it, we need those transporters online as soon as possible."

"Yes, captain, I'm on it." B'Elanna said from engineering. She knew B'Elanna had already had her hands full after the crash, but she knew she had just made the transporters priority. More systems must have been damaged than they had thought. She hadn't seen the transporters on the damage report Harry had been given to relay to her.

"Keep a lock on him Harry, we don't want to lose his location, re-raise the shields Tuvok." Janeway ordered.

"Aye, Captain." said Ensign Kim and Tuvok at the same instant.

Janeway sat again in her chair, this time though, she elected to stay seated for a while. It had been a long day, and it didn't seem like it was going to be over any time soon.


	16. Book 1 : Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**  
_Conjecture_

Chris and Sil, now aboard a shuttle, were seated next to one another. Chris had noticed that the van-sized vehicle they were now in had no wheels or propellers of any kind. He was wondering to himself how this "shuttle" would move them anywhere.

Chris's head had begun to hurt again. He had started to feel a burning sensation near his right temple after Tok had killed the one called Wro. He raised his hand up and rubbed his head where the pain was originating.

"Are you ok?" Sil asked him in a whisper.

Tok and the other soldiers had gone back outside a long moment ago, although one soldier had stayed near the entrance of the shuttle to watch them, but he seemed more content merely staring at Chris than he was at eavesdropping on them.

"My head is hurting again." he replied, also whispering, "but don't worry, I'll be fine."

"I am wondering, how it is we can still understand each other?" Sil asked him. "I assumed the computer on the causality had been translating, but we are no longer on board."

"I hadn't thought about that. Could it be we actually speak the same language?" Chris asked. Outside he heard Tok talking to someone, but he couldn't make out what he was saying. It was clearly a different language he was speaking. "Although, I can't understand Tok anymore."

"Really?" she leaned to see if she could see Tok from where she was seated. "I don't understand why it would be that you can understand me, but not him, you understood him earlier didn't you."

"Yes, I did." Chris said confused. His head was pounding more and more every moment, and also where the pain was he felt a slight tingling sensation. Being cooped up inside this shuttle at the mercy of a madman wasn't helping either. They needed to get out of there that was for sure.

Do you know how to drive this thing?"

"Yes, but Tok took the activation card when he went outside." Sil whispered showing her disappointment.

Chris heard Tok getting closer, as he did, what he was saying started to become understandable.

"Elh olip hhau tatt were as foolish as I knew they would be, they thought they could trick me, Ha!"

"I can understand him again.." Chris said as Tok entered the shuttle.

"I see you two have gotten comfortable, You'll be happy to know I just contacted your friends." Tok said glaring at the them.

"Friends?" Chris asked confused. What was he talking about?

"Oh, don't act so surprised. You knew they would be here, you're a spy and they're the invasion force." Tok said moving closer to him.

"I told you before, I'm not a spy, I have no ..." Chris started to reply, but Tok raised his left hand and backhanded him across the face. Pain shot through the left side of his face, and he could feel the warmth of blood start to trickle from a newly formed gash above his brow.

"Stop, he speaks the truth!" Sil yelled quickly standing to her feet to attempt to defend him. The soldier behind Tok raised his rifle and aimed it at her, she saw this and slowly sat back down.

"Sure he does, and I am a fartho house fly." Tok said mocking them, he and his soldiers began to laugh.

"Buzz... Buzz." Chris said looking up at Tok scornfully.

Tok stopped laughing and again backhanded him across the face, this time, everything went black.

* * *

Captain Janeway sat at the head of the briefing room table, the rest of the senior staff also sat in their usual places. It had been a half hour since the communication with the one called Tok, and B'Elanna had discovered something.

"Captain, I have found the cause of the malfunctions in the transporters. The same tachyon field that effected Harry has moved into its systems," the half-klingon chief engineer said. She was pregnant and she seemed ready to give birth in a few weeks. But that wouldn't stop her from doing her work, this Janeway knew. Her husband, Tom Paris sat across from her.

"So that's where that little bugger went too." Tom said, looking over at Harry who shivered noticeably.

"I'm getting the same readings Tuvok read from it before, it does seem to have an intelligence to its energy patterns. Also the time loop that occurred in the mess hall has ceased, I believe this tachyon formation, which I suggest is an entity of some kind, had been in the environmental systems there, and that had caused the loop."

Janeway looked over at Chakotay, who was leaning back in his chair. She thought a moment about time displacement and temporal theory. The federation had encountered life forms in places and of forms the couldn't have imagined possible. Anti-matter aliens, omnipotent beings, and even parallel universes.

So it wasn't hard to imagine creatures who live in, or were even made up of particles of time.

"Are you reading any type of possible communication from the entity?" Chakotay asked.

"No, and as long as its inside the transporter systems, I suggest we don't try to use them. I have locked out the transporter systems from the rest of the ship, to attempt to prevent or slow its migration from system to system."

"Good work." Janeway complimented. "Try to find a way to communicate with the entity. For all we know, it was trapped on board when we passed through the field surrounding this solar system. Have you found out anything more about that field?"

"Affirmative, Captain," Tuvok said, " The field we passed through is also composed of highly clustered tachyons, so your hypothesis about the stowaway entity is very probable. Also, all attempts to scan space beyond the field has been unsuccessful."

"Any indication why this planetary system didn't appear on our sensors before we intersected with the tachyon field?

"Perhaps we've stumbled onto some sort of pocket system." Tom said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Chakotay asked.

"I mean, lets say, that in the universe, there are points in space that are doorways to other points in space, not much unlike worm holes, but these new areas of space those doorways open up to, occupy the same area as the door way itself, sort of like a pocket." Tom said smiling.

"You think of that all by yourself Tom?" B'Elanna said trying not to laugh. "Seems a bit out there."

"Actually to tell you the truth, its from one of my Captain Proton episodes, Captain Proton versus the aliens from the pocket universe. But it could be what happened, Just making a suggestion. Tom said.

"Thank you for your opinion, but I doubt that's what this is." Janeway said, also unable to keep her humor with his comment hidden. Everyone excluding Seven and Tuvok began to laugh. Tom however was not amused.


	17. Book 1 : Chapter 16

**Chapter 16****_  
_**_Enemy Fire_

_"Tobias, where are you going?" his mother asked him as he ran towards the door._

_"Outside to play mommy." he replied stopping mid-stride. Outside a light snow was falling, and the field outside their house was almost completely covered by a foot of the newly fallen powder._

_"Don't forget your mittens you silly boy." the man sitting at the kitchen table thought to him. " You don't want to catch a cold do you?"_

_"No, Daddy..." he replied and reached for the mittens on the counter. He was eight years old and couldn't quite reach them without the help of his mother._

_"Mommy, can I use the skimmer?" the young Tobias asked as she gave him his mittens._

_"You know your not old enough yet Toby, you'll have to wait a few years, but maybe your father could take you out on it later. " she said looking up at the man at the table._

_"Sure, I can spare a few hours later, but I have to fix the replicator first, or your mother won't be able to make us any hot cocoa when we get back." His father said, and began to laugh._

_With a resounding boom, everything went black._

_Tobias was lying face down on what was left of the kitchen floor. Around him, fire ate at the debris from his shattered home. He rolled onto his back and saw a dark cloud above him, it was moving slowly away in the direction of the city._

_Snowflakes and ash, both burned and cooled his skin as they landed. He sat up and looked around him, he saw fire for as far as he could see, trees, homes, and even the snow itself was burning._

_From the dark cloud came a bright light and another area of trees began to burn._

_Tobias then realized it wasn't a cloud, it was a spacecraft, and it was attacking everything, and anything that was alive._

_Betazed was under attack._

_He looked to his right where his mother had been standing moments before. All that remained was a large fallen piece of roof. At its base was a woman's hand, with blood running down the fingers._

_He could form only one word in his throat, and he repeated it over and over, sitting there in the rubble staring at his mothers motionless hand._

_"Monsters." Tobias said once_

_"Monsters." Tobias said a second time._

* * *

"Monsters." Chris weakly murmured.

He opened his eyes and found himself laying on a soft surface facing the ceiling. He sat up.

It had been a strange dream, full of faces and names he knew, but never new. He had a strange feeling it had something to do with his current situation. When he had awoken in the stasis unit, he had no idea what was going on, a now, even with a little knowledge of where he was, he still felt a lack of knowledge of why and how.

Sil had been a comfort, a source of some answers, and if not just answers, she offered understanding, unlike all the others he had encountered, with an exception of the now deceased Leader, who had tried to obtain their release.

The last thing he remembered was being in the shuttle being confronted by Tok. Now he was in the center of a large white room, what he assumed was a cell. Other than the bed he now sat on, there were no other objects within the confined space.

The lighting inside the cell was bright, and it hurt his eyes. This brightness was added to by one wall of the cell, which was comprised of glowing horizontal bars. Beyond those bars he could see another cell exactly like the one he now occupied.

Inside he saw Sil lying on a bed like he had been. She wasn't moving, beyond breathing.

"Sil." He said as he stood and moved towards the glowing parallel bars. When he reached the bars, he put his hand on one. A sharp pain shot through his hand as a spark of electricity emitted from the bar. Chris shook his hand wildly to try and dull the pain. After a moment the pain dulled, but was still noticeable.

The noise he had just made must have roused his fellow captive, because she started to move.

"Sil, are you ok?" he asked, leaning as close to the bars as possible without actually touching them. He watched as Sil sat up and looked around. He felt he could trust her, after all, she was in the same position as he.

"Where are we?" Sil asked standing to her feet and moving towards the bars.

"A cell block it looks like, be careful around the glowing bars."

"Electrified?" Sil asked peering at him from across the space between their cells. The corridor between them stretched out of view to either side. As far as he could tell, there were cells adjoining theirs.

"Very." He replied and held up his hand, showing her the burn mark the bars had produced.

"At least your not bleeding anymore."

"I had forgotten about that." he said and in reaction touched his forehead, feeling a sharp pain.

"I noticed you bleed red, that's fascinating." Sil said.

"Why is that so fascinating?" Chris asked wondering how something so simple could bring her so much excitement.

"I find it fascinating because we Frain have found that of all the life forms on our planet, we are the only species who does not have red blood, we have blue blood. In fact, we have found no evolutionary connection to our own planet. And from where I am standing now, it seems that you have more in common with our planet than we do."

From down the corridor to his left, her right, quick moving footsteps could be heard approaching. Chris tried to peer down the corridor without touching the bars, but couldn't see who was coming.

"Ku miat dial, umb. Sil, heli o" Came a voice, speaking in the same strange language Tok had before when he had heard him from the shuttle. But Chris could tell it wasn't Tok who was approaching, but a different man.

"Ret!" Sil shouted sounding relieved, "Over here!"

"I can't understand him." Chris said. Sil looked over at him and seemed to be contemplating what he had just said.

"Mal-ka goodness I found you," said the one Sil had called Ret, his words becoming understandable a moment before he came into view. This man was short just like Tok and his soldiers had been, Chris began to wonder if all men were short on this planet.

"Wait, Now I can understand him." Chris said, turning Rets attention towards him, and away from Sil. When his focus fell on Chris, he stopped moving completely and stared in disbelief.

"It's... It's." Ret stammered.

"Yes, Ret, he's an alien..." Sil said calmly, and then smiled at Chris.

"Nice to meet you." Chris said, also smiling.

"...Nice...to...meet you..." Ret said slowly stepping towards Chris's cell. Chris realized he should probably get used to being stared at like this, especially while on an alien planet.

"Ret, as much as I know you would like to just stare, could you get us out of here?" requested Sil.

This comment seemed to sober Ret to the point of pure seriousness. "Yes, when I found out you were being held here, I came as soon as possible. Tok is not too far behind me."

"Can you get us out?" Chris asked. He definitely wanted to escape before Tok arrived. Tok had proved himself as someone who didn't care about truth, but only in his own paranoia. And that paranoia was sure to lead to Chris and Sil's mutual deaths.

"Yes, I have been in this cell block before, and have high enough authorization to get past the guards. Here, let me get those cell bars."

"Ret, Tok killed Leader Wro." Sil said bluntly as Ret activated a panel on the wall near her cell. He stopped what he was doing and looked at her in shock.

"What?" Ret said, clearly oblivious that it had occurred.

The bars on Sil's cell began to part and retract into the walls. When they were far enough apart, Sil exited her cell and crossed over to Chris's cell's control panel and started to push buttons. "Ret, did you bring any weapons?"

"No, But they keep some in the emergency box at the end of the hall, I have the code to open it." Ret replied running down the hall as the bars in front of Chris began to part.

"Come, lets get out of here." Sil said motioning for Chris to follow.

"Gladly," He said following her down the corridor. As he ran he took note that on both sides of them were more empty cells with completely parted bars. Each had the same layout as their own cells.

They both caught up to Ret at the end of the hall where he had already opened what looked like some sort of protruding locker. Inside were five pistols like the ones that Tok's soldiers had carried in their first encounter. Also in the box was one rifle version of the weapon. Sil and Ret each reached in and grabbed a pistol.

"What do they shoot?" Chris asked reaching in and taking one as well.

"Concentrated plasma bursts." Sil said pushing a button on the side of the pistol, which produced a small squealing noise, and then was quiet again. "Turn it on here."

Chris activated his pistol and held it like he would have held a gun on earth. He had been to a few shooting ranges with his father last year, and he had been getting better with his aim. He was sure the aim on an alien plasma pistol might be different, but the pistol itself had the same rudimentary shape as the ones on earth, although these were slightly rounded, and were definitely alien in design.

"How many shots can it shoot before running out of ammo?" Chris asked not wanting to caught without any ammo.

"It has an self recharging internal power supply that will never go dead. But it does require time to charge after about a thousand shots." Ret said activating his pistol. "Any further explanation on how they work would take too long."

At the far end of the hall Tok came into view. Behind him were four soldiers, all with their own pistols. When Tok saw the trio near the locker, he yelled something in the same unrecognizable language he had used before. The soldiers all drew their pistols and opened fire.

Bolts of plasma pelted into the wall behind Chris and his cohorts. Sil quickly pushed Ret into the open cell opposite the locker for cover. Chris however was forced to move behind the protruding weapons locker and push himself flat against the wall. Tok and his men continued to shoot, even without a target in sight.

"Is there another way out?" Chris yelled and then peered slightly out from behind the locker and aimed his pistol. He squeezed the handle of the weapon and a bolt of plasma exited the weapons barrel and intersected with the wall directly to the left of Tok.

In response, a bolt hit the locker door and forced Chris to move flat against the wall once more.

"No, unfortunately that's the only exit." Ret yelled as he also returned fire and then ducked back into cover.

"Of course, it would be too easy otherwise." Chris said wryly and then smiled. Chris quickly reached into the locker and pulled out a second pistol just before another bolt hit the locker door.

He activated the weapon and fired both simultaneously around the edge of the locker. One of his shots hit a soldier in the chest and he collapsed onto the floor motionless. The three remaining soldiers moved to take cover in two adjacent cells. Tok however didn't seem afraid, he stood in the middle of the corridor firing without the concern of the need for cover, and all of his shots were directed at Chris.

"I'm glad he's on our side, he's a good shot." Ret said motioning toward Chris. Sil looked over at him as well and had noticed he had stopped shooting.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I've never killed anyone before." Chris replied.

It hadn't occurred to him, until now that he was fighting for his life, and to do that, he would have to take lives. Was it something he could do? Was he ready to be that person?

"Neither have I, but Its better than being killed, or worse, studied, like they were most likely planning to do to you." Sil said taking aim for another shot.

Chris realized what she had said was true, and he started to shoot again. This time one of his shots hit Tok, it caught the slight of his face and his left eye. Tok let out a scream as he fell to the floor clutching his wound. One of the soldiers came out of his cover to try and help his commander, but was shot in the leg by one of Sil's blasts and fell over wounded.

Tok pulled himself off the ground and ran out the door and out of sight. The wounded soldier crawled back into cover and began to fire again, while still sitting on the floor.

Chris looked behind him. What had been a completely white corridor, was now filled with black scorch marks, made by the countless plasma bolts that had already been fired, and he wondered how many more were there going to be.

Both sides continued to fire at each other for another few moments, without success.

Then Ret peered out from his cover with Sil and fired a shot at the wounded soldier, hitting him in the face as he had also leaned out to fire. He went limp, clearly dead. But before Ret could fully hide his exposed right side, a soldier successfully made a shot contact Ret in the arm.  
He dropped his weapon and fell into the cell clutching his wound. Sil quickly pulled him further into the cell, her much taller height seemed to help her pull him easier.

From where he was, Chris could tell Ret was injured quite badly. His blue blood was staining his grey outfit. Chris had forgotten for a moment that he was on an alien planet, but the blood reminded him that things here were quite different than back on earth.

Chris continued to fire as Sil tended to Ret the best she could. She ripped a portion of what Chris guessed was the Frain equivalent of a sheet, which had been on the bed in the cell. She then wrapped the wound with the torn cloth. Ret nodded to her and she moved to continue the fight.

At the other end of the corridor more soldiers had entered the cell block and had joined the battle. Whatever hope Chris had left was dwindling fast.  
"We're quite outnumbered." Sil said after she successfully downed another soldier. "Tok must have called reinforcements."

"What should we do?" Chris asked.

"Just keep shooting, I'm not going to give up, even if I have to take on the whole military." Sil yelled with apparent determination.

"I'm with you!" Chris yelled, he realized that He, Sil and Ret would most likely die here in this cell block. He would never find out how he got to this planet and would never find a way home.


	18. Book 1 : Chapter 17

Chapter 17  
Relocation

Captain Janeway and her senior staff had returned to their stations after their meeting in the conference room which had concluded a few minutes ago. She now stood next to Harry at ops.

"Do we still have a lock on the human life sign?" she asked him.

"Yes captain, however I'm picking up weapon signatures in close proximity to the life sign. Some sort of exchange of fire. Two Frain life signs are also near the human, one is critical. From the trajectories of the shots I'm guessing those two Frain are helping the human." Harry said.

"Janeway to Lieutenant Torres, what's the status of the transporters?" she asked after tapping her comm badge.

"They are still being occupied by the entity captain. But I just had another idea, I am on my way to the shuttle bay right now."

Janeway instantly knew what her chief engineer was suggesting, Why had they not thought of that before. "Are we within range to use the Delta Flyer's transporters while its still in the docking bay?"

"Yes captain, we were out of range before, but the human life sign has moved closer to our position since we first detected it."

"Ensign Kim will lower the shields at your command Lieutenant, just give him the word... beam the human and two frain life signs located nearby directly to sickbay." Janeway said moving towards the turbo lift. "Chakotay, lets go meet our guests."

* * *

Chris and Sil were losing badly. As far as she could tell, fourteen new soldiers had replaced the six they had already managed to kill or wound. They had both overcome their hesitance to kill, as they were most likely to befall that fate if they stopped fighting back.

Chris was still up against the opposite wall behind the locker he had taken cover behind. Sil herself was still ducking in and out of the cell, and behind her Ret had lost consciousness from loss of blood. It seemed amazing to her that they had been able to survive this long, but she guessed their will to live gave them an edge.

She had decided to mimic Chris's actions and had picked up Rets pistol, and was now also using both pistols simultaneously to hold back the oncoming forces.

Every so often, she would look over at the human to make sure he was alright, and each time she could see despair in Chris's eyes, although he also seemed intent on fighting to the very end. He had courage she could tell, although she was unsure about her own, could she face death when it came? Had it already come? Would she die here?

Chris stopped shooting suddenly when he seemed to notice something happening behind her, perhaps Ret was conscious again. She turned to check on her wounded friend, but he was gone. All that remained was a small stain of his blood where he had been leaning against the wall.

"He vanished!" Chris yelled purely shocked.

Sil looked over to Chris, who was about to say something else, but he then started to fade into a blue shimmer, and then into nothing. The shimmer reminded her of when she had been pulled into the alien craft where she had discovered Chris.

After he was completely gone, she herself started to shimmer, and the room around her changed from a white scarred corridor into a strange room.

The first thing Sil realized was that her plasma pistols were gone and her hands were now empty, instinctively she looked around to see if she could locate them.

She noticed that beside her stood Chris, and he was also staring at their new surroundings, he too was unarmed.

This new rooms walls were a blueish grey and had a few computer panels here and there. A few raised beds lined the curved wall which led to a small round area with a larger bed in the center, on which lay Ret. Sil quickly moved over to his side, before she had even noticed the alien standing on the opposite side of the same bed. He looked to be the same race as Chris.

"Where are we?" Chris said from behind her. "Who are you and what are you doing to him?"

Sil had wanted to ask those same questions, but had hesitated, for she was confused as to what had just happened.

The alien was wearing a green and black uniform of some kind, his head had black hair on the sides and back, but none at all on the top. He had the same skin color as Chris, and was also as tall as he was.

After a moment the alien looked up and said, "Your aboard the Starship Voyager, I am a doctor, your friend here requires my attention." He quickly raised his hand and held a device in their direction, after a moment he said, "Your injury's look to be superficial and can be healed after I tend to this patient."

Before Sil could say anything, a door at the opposite end of the room hissed open and four more aliens entered.

Two of the entering aliens wore red and black uniforms that were the same design as the alien's who was already in the room. The other two that entered following behind the two in red, wore yellow and carried what looked to be weapons on their waists. While the two in red continued towards them, the two in yellow stopped just inside the doorway and remained in a vigilant stance.

One of the aliens in red was what Sil guessed was a female, and the other was male. The male had a form of body art on a portion of his face. Both had small gold pieces of metal on the collar of their uniforms, although the number of them varied, and both had a strangely shaped piece of metal on their left upper chest.

As they came to a halt, they both gave their attention to Chris, and then the female addressed them both equally.  
"Welcome aboard, I am Captain Kathryn Janeway, and this is Commander Chakotay, my second officer." the female in red said motioning towards the male beside her.

"My name is Christopher Moss, and my companions are Sil ...and Ret." Chris said motioning to them. She was glad he had spoken for her, she was still a bit dazed from the whole experience.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." the woman who introduced herself as Kathryn Janeway said. How could Sil possible remember such a long name? After all, her people only had names with three letters which had been tradition for four thousand years. She had thought Chris's name was hard enough before she even knew he had a longer version of that same name, Christopher Moss.

The male who had called himself a doctor spoke up next. "Captain, I can heal this wound without any complications."

"Very good doctor, let us know when he's conscious." Janeway said to him, and then returned her attention to Chris. "We were surprised to find another human here on this planet, perhaps you would like to tell us how you got here, but in a more comfortable setting, where we won't distract the doctor from his work."

"I'm actually eager to find out where exactly this planet is, you see, I have no idea how I got here." Chris said stepping forward.

Sil hadn't spoken a word as of yet, and decided to finally do so. "Excuse me...but how did we get here, the last thing I remember was fighting for our lives in the cell block.

The two aliens looked at each other and smiled.

"We have a device called a transporter, which allows us to move objects from one place to another instantaneously." the one named Chakotay replied, "But for now, I think we will just concentrate on introductions, technical questions will be for later."

"Come, let us move to the conference room." Janeway said motioning towards the door.


	19. Book 1 : Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**  
_Conference_

Chris had been shocked to see another human on this planet, let alone, what he guessed was a ship full of them. He, Sil and Ret had all somehow been whisked away from the battle they had been fighting, to this ship that the woman who was now in front of him had called Voyager.

Himself, Sil and the two people who had introduced themselves as Captain Kathryn Janeway, and Commander Chakotay had left what Chris had assumed was a medical bay. They were followed closely by the two men in yellow who had been standing by the door in the medical bay.

Now they all were walking down a Corridor, in groups of two, Chakotay was beside him, and Sil was beside Janeway.

After a moment of walking in silence, Janeway greeted another man who was walking towards them in the opposite direction, he was wearing the same type of uniform their new hosts wore, but it was a different color, green and black.

The man she had greeted stepped aside and let them pass, as he did he made eye contact with Chris and nodded. Chris decided to nod back, after all, it was what he would have done if he had been nodded to on the street back on earth.

Sil seemed to be keeping her attention on her surroundings as if they would vanish any moment. Of course, he guessed it had happened to her twice already, who was to say it wasn't going to again? Sil also seemed focused on the one called Janeway as well, who was actually slightly shorter than Sil.

Chris wondered what was going through her mind. Did she feel as out of place as he did? Was she frightened at all?

They turned a corner and walked down an even shorter corridor to a door, it opened as they approached, and inside Chris saw a small room no bigger than an elevator. At least, he guessed that this was what this was.

"Everyone in, this turbo lift will take us to the bridge and the briefing room is just a stones throw away." Janeway said stepping inside. Chris smiled to himself, he had been right in his assumption.

Sil hesitated for a moment, and then entered the small space and stood near the back wall facing the door. Chris could now tell Sil was feeling a bit uncomfortable, so he entered the turbo lift, as Janeway had called it. He moved beside Sil and attempted to make her feel safer by standing between her and the other four people in the lift. She looked at him and smiled, he returned the smile.

"Deck One, Bridge." Chakotay said as the doors closed. The lift began to hum, but Chris felt no disorientation of movement as he would have expected from an elevator.

After about thirty or so seconds, the doors opened once more, revealing a fairly large room that sloped down away from the turbo lift. Chris realized this room was clearly the bridge, and he decided to take a quick look around as he followed Janeway.

On his left was a man wearing a yellow and black uniform, this man stood behind a raised console and he had noticed the party moving across the bridge. Chris nodded to him, and the man returned the gesture and smiled, then returned to his duties.

Chris then looked to his right where a large screen was placed into the wall, it displayed an ocean view, with many boats moving about. In front of the screen sat another man in uniform, this one red and black, the man however seemed to be just watching the group walk towards the left of the bridge.

Then, he could no longer see the screen or the man who was watching them, for they had entered a doorway that exited the bridge and entered a room with a table in its center.

Janeway moved to the end of the table and motioned for them to sit. Out of the six remaining chairs, Chris decided to sit on the right side of the table, two chairs from Janeway on her left, to leave space for comfort. Sil sat to his left, and glanced at him, she smiled and then let her focus fall on Chakotay who had sat in the chair to the right of Janeway across from them.

After everyone had been seated Janeway began. "Again, we want to welcome you to the United Federation Starship Voyager. You may call me either Captain Janeway or just plain Captain, which ever you are more comfortable with."

"Thank you, Captain, I should tell you, I was surprised to see another human after I found I was on an alien planet." Chris said leaning forward. He was eager to learn all he could.

"Yes. And we were equally anxious to hear about how you got here, but in sickbay you said that you didn't know?" Chakotay said. "Do you not recall any part of your journey here?"

"No, you see, before Sil found and woke me on that other ship, I was, to my knowledge, still on earth." he said leaning back.

"Woke you?" Janeway asked catching what he had said with an interest.

"I found him in some sort of stasis pod." Sil said, speaking up for the first time since they had left what Janeway had called sickbay. "When I woke him, He seemed very confused, and disoriented. I believe him when he says he knows nothing of how he got here."

"I see, where and when were you last on Earth?" Janeway asked.

"To my knowledge, I was in school, in California, and then I woke up in that tube still wearing the same clothes, It was as if no time had passed at all. And other than this headache I have, I feel exactly the same as I did before. As for when...I was about to Graduate on the thirteenth of June, two thousand and three." Chris said and shrugged. He noticed then that both Janeway and Chakotay had froze, both had a look of surprise on their faces.

"Did you say...two thousand and three.?" Janeway asked, still showing look of surprise.

"Yes, ...I understand a lot of time has passed, the computer on the other ship had told Sil something about four thousand four hundred years." Chris said.

Janeway looked over to Chakotay and then said, "Well I'm not sure what that computer told you, but its only been about four hundred years, not four thousand, its twenty three ninety eight, by Earths old calender."

"Four hundred?" Chris said to himself, so it hadn't been as long as he thought, but what about the four thousand years the computer in the other ship was talking about. Had Sil been mistaken? He looked beside him at Sil, "Do you remember exactly what the other computer said?"

"Somewhat, It said something about time travel and an unknown occurrence that caused the ship to travel back in time four thousand years. So perhaps you were taken from your time and then brought forward. But when you reached that time something happened that caused you to travel back in time four thousand years, and there you stayed until I found you. What I don't understand is that it seems the other ship, the Causality, was trying to come to this year. You had said it was twenty three ninety seven by your calender, and that was the year the Causality was heading. And now that this year has come, your ship crashes here captain." Sil said shaking her head in complete wonder. "Could it all be a coincidence?"

Chris watched as Janeway studied Sil, then she said, "It seems there is much to this mystery that is still yet to be solved. We believe the other ship, which you say is called the causality, is from the future, so hearing that you are from the past is quite a surprise. I hope you two and your friend in sickbay are willing to cooperate with us to discover what has really happened."

"Of course captain, I will of course help, after all, I am part of this mystery." Chris said. He was glad to have others who were also looking for answers. He didn't feel so alone.

"I will help as well, I believe the answers we seek may help both our peoples, after all, the field that surrounds our solar system appeared at the same time that the causality had crashed here, It is also too exact to be a coincidence." Sil replied.

"Thank you both for your cooperation, I understand this may come as a shock to you Chris, but we are currently twenty eight thousand light years from earth, we ourselves are far from home."

"How have you come to be so far from Earth?" Chris asked after a short moment of taking in the information she had just offered.

Janeway looked over at Chakotay and then back to Chris, "That's a long story. And we'll get to that in-," she paused and then continued,"-time."

"Now, Sil, I think we should discuss relations between our two peoples, we have been in contact with two of your planets representatives before we met you. Leader Wro and Chief of Defense Tok, one seemed kind hearted and willing to meet with us, and the other seemed a bit war-torn."

"Tok is a madman, he killed Leader Wro just to keep him from making relations with you and your kind. He would have killed me also if Chris had not gotten him to spare me." Sil said and then looked to Chris, he saw thanks in her now blue eyes, and he smiled in return. "And if Ret had not rescued us from our cells when he did, we would most likely both be under interrogation."

"I see, then it seems we may have to find a new approach to this situation, we don't like being pulled into a war, we would rather seek a diplomatic approach." Janeway said as she met the commanders gaze.

The pain in Chris's head began to surface again, he winced and rubbed his temple. Janeway seemed to take notice.

"The headache you spoke of?"she asked.

"Yes, it seems to come and go at random." he replied.

"Perhaps we should have Mr. Paris return our guests to sickbay and see if their friend is awake, the doctor may be able to determine the cause of Chris's headache while they are there." Chakotay suggested.

"Yes, I'd say that would be a good idea, Tom Paris is somewhat of a history buff, especially of the twentieth and early twenty first centuries, you two may have a lot to talk about." Janeway said to Chris. "Consider him our ambassador to your time. We have in fact traveled back in time once to nineteen ninety six, and he provided us with knowledge that helped us pass as normal citizens of that time."

"Really?" Chris said as surprised as Janeway and Chakotay had been when he had told them what year he was from. Perhaps if they had traveled back in time once, they could return him to his own time. "I would have been twelve then."

"Lieutenant Paris, please report to the briefing room." Chakotay said after he touched his hand to the metal shape on his chest, he figured it must be some sort of communication device.

"On my way Commander." Another man said, his voice seemed to come from nowhere, but everywhere.

"Sil, If you remember anything else the computer on the Causality said, please don't hesitate to tell us." Captain Janeway said as the door they had entered through opened once more.

The man who entered was the same man who stared at them as they had crossed the bridge.

"You requested my presence Captain?" said, whom Chris assumed was Tom Paris.

Tom's demeanor was as formal as the others he had met on board, but Chris could tell from his face that he was someone who had a good sense of humor.

"Yes Lieutenant, would you please escort our guests back to sick bay to have the doctor check on their health. This is Chris and this is Sil. Chris is apparently from the year two thousand three, I thought since you were so helpful during our travel back to nineteen ninety six you would have something to talk about while we discuss what has happened so far."

"Yes, captain, I would be delighted." Paris said looking over at him and Sil, he then centered his focus on Janeway.

"Captain, if he is from the past, should we tell him anything about the future, we could alter the time line."

"It is unlikely that we will find a way to send him home, we are very far from earth, and we have no means to open any type of temporal rift." Janeway said, and this made Chris confused, she had just said they had gone back in time before.

"But captain, you just said you went to earths past. Are you saying you can't do it again?" he said genuinely showing his distress.

Janeway paused, and then looked to Chakotay. She seemed saddened by the situation.

"When we traveled back in time, it was against our will, during an accident involving a time ship...we're sorry, but so far it doesn't look like we can send you home." Chakotay said clearly disappointed to have to tell him what he had.

"I see..." Chris said slightly quieter than he had been speaking a moment ago. "So since I can't go back, is it possible to find out what happened to my family and friends after I disappeared?"

"If our computers have any information about that time period, feel free to look up anything you wish." Janeway said.

"Thank you captain." Chris said and stood to his feet. Sil also stood and started toward the door.

"One more thing captain." Chris said turning, he wanted to know something more than anything else, "If I'm truly stuck in this time, what am I to do?"

"Well, I see no reason that you couldn't stay here on board Voyager with us, we are heading to earth, it may not be your earth, but its definitely a place you could get to like."

"Maybe, It does sound interesting, journeying through space... I'll have to think about it. After all we may find a way for me to go back after all." he said, nodded to the Captain and her second in command, Chakotay.

Chris followed Sil and Tom out the door. He felt somewhat relieved that he knew when and where he was, but he was still worried about how and why he was here. He thought back to the dream he had while imprisoned by Tok. Did what he saw in that vivid nightmare have anything to do with why he was there?

As they crossed the bridge once more, Chris noticed two people he hadn't the first time they had exited the turbo lift and crossed the space. The first was a woman, whose blonde hair was tied in a bun. She wasn't wearing the same uniform as the others, but she did have the same metal communication device on her left upper chest. In fact, he noticed she had many more metal devices on her left brow, and her right hand.

The other person...if that's what he was, had much darker skin, a normal trait among humans yes, but this man also had strangely pointed ears and oddly shaped eye brows. He seemed rigid and unemotional in the way he was looking down at the computer in front of him.

"Lieutenant Commander Tuvok, please report to the briefing room." Chris heard Janeway's voice say from everywhere using the same means Tom had when responding to Chakotay.

The man, who had the pointed ears, acknowledged her call and made his way towards the briefing room.

"All aboard who's coming aboard ,"Tom said as he entered the turbo lift. Sil had already entered the small space, and Chris was the only one of them still on the bridge. He followed them inside without further hesitation.


	20. Book 1 : Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**  
_Upgrade_

Tok stood in the former Leader's office, staring out the window at the rising sun. His left eye was damaged beyond recognition and he was now blind on that side. His face was scarred and burned and would most likely never heal.

Tok would see to it that the despicable human that scarred him would pay dearly. And before he was put to death he would feel pain beyond anything he could imagine.

Shortly after he had been forced to flee because of his injury's, Tok had returned to find that the human and his two foolish Frain companions had mysteriously vanished. The human Janeway must have had something to do with their disappearance. He cursed inwardly at her and her kind, they would not conquer his planet if he could stop them, and he would.

"Excuse me sir, the men have been assembled. "Tok's second in command reported as he entered the office. "What are your orders?"  
Tok turned and his second saw for the first time his commanders wounds. The second seemed to be in shock, but Tok gave him a hard glance and he again stood at attention.

"Form a perimeter around the vessel on the shore, order all of the water units to pull back, they don't want to be nearby when we open fire. Are the scavengers ready?" he said.

"Yes sir, they are airborne and heading in this direction, ETA five minutes."

"Good, have them open fire as soon as they arrive, tell your men to follow suit and also open fire at that point. Today is a day that will be remembered in history as our greatest victory." Tok grinned in his own malevolence.

After his second had left to initiate the attack, Tok turned to the window.

"My their blood stain the waters." he said to his partially opaque reflection. Who then grinned when he did.

* * *

Chris had again found himself in sickbay, and he had been relieved to return to where Ret was. Ret was lying on a bed set off to the side of the others. He was worried for the well being of his new friend, and if not a friend, comrade in battle.

Sil now sat on a bed close to Ret, who had still not regained consciousness. She had begun to converse with the doctor who was now scanning her with some sort of device. He smiled casually as he chatted with her. Sil had insisted she be scanned first, and since Chris's headache had faded again, for the moment, he had agreed.

"Your friend seems to be getting more comfortable in alien surroundings." Tom said from where he stood next to Chris, who was sitting on another bed on the opposite side of the room as Ret.

"Yes, It seems your right, although I am human surrounded by my own kind, she seems to be handling this whole situation better than me." Chris said as he looked to Sil.

"Well, you'd be surprised actually, the crew on Voyager is made up of many species. For example, the doctor, he may look human, but he's actually a sentient hologram." Tom said.

Chris realized that was why no one had mentioned the doctors name. "Is he safe to be around?"

"Of course, although his bedside manner is still a bit lacking, he's improved over the years." Tom replied, and then smiled after getting a sour look from the Doctor.

"What other species are there on board? I saw a man on the bridge who had pointed ears, and a woman who had metal on her face and hands." he inquired.

"That would be Tuvok and Seven of Nine. Tuvok is a Vulcan, his race control their emotions, and Seven, well she's a bit complicated, lets just say she isn't someone you want to mess with."

Chris's headache started to return, but the pain was dull and he didn't feel the need to mention it just yet, as he still wanted to focus on asking questions. But he felt almost as if the pain itself was saying something to him.

"The Captain had said something about nineteen ninety six...tell me more about that." Chris said, knowing that if he was going to find a way to return to his time, starting with this ships own travels in time would be as good a place as any.

Tom began to tell Chris about what had happened during their escapades in Los Angeles. He talked about Henry Starling and his company Chronowerx, how the time ship was destroyed, and that they had accidentally been caught on camera flying low over the city.

"We never would have succeeded in thwarting Starling if it hadn't been for someone from your own time. I sort of fell for her, but don't tell my wife, she'd break my neck. I did never find out what happened to Rain Robinson."

Chris had paid close attention to Tom's recalling of events. He knew many of the names of places Tom spoke of, for one Chronowerx had been the largest manufacturer of computer software in those years. Chris's English astronomy teacher had worked for that company before. The company did however collapse when the CEO disappeared. His teacher had been forced to change careers when her grant at the Griffith Observatory ended, so she began teaching. Chris now understood a part of the Chronowerx downfall that no one in his time knew about, except of course for the woman named Rain that Tom had spoken about, He— Chris suddenly realized that Tom had said Rain Robinson, and that his teacher had the same name.

"Wait, did you say ...Rain Robinson?" Chris said slowly. Tom's face changed from reminiscence to wonder.

"Yes, why?"

"Well, I may be mistaken, although Rain is a very unique name, but I think I know her."

"You know her, how?" Tom said almost yelling, which seemed to catch the Doctor's attention. The hologram walked over towards them, Sil stood and moved over towards Ret who was still unconscious and stood beside him.

"Well, I'm all done with your friend's scans, she is perfectly healthy, although I've never had experience with their species before I'm sure my scans were accurate. Now, she said you were having headaches?" the Doctor asked preparing to scan Chris.

"Just a sec Doc, we were talking about something, Chris here says he knows Rain Robinson." Tom said quickly to the Doctor.

"If my memory algorithms are correct, isn't that the woman from Earth's past whom we met at the same time I donned the mobile emitter?" the Doctor said raising the same device he had used on Sil to Chris head.

"Yes, that's her, Chris, tell me more, how do you know her?" Tom said eagerly.

"She was my astronomy teacher. I'm afraid to say, if we're talking about the same Rain Robinson, that everything that happened at Chronowerx caused her to loose her grant at the Observatory, but she picked up teaching afterwards." Chris said watching the expression on Toms face. "I'm surprised that you know someone that I do, perhaps she may have something to do with why I'm here?"

Chris thought back to the last few moments he had been in his time. He realized now that Rain had indeed been the last person he had talked to.

"I'm not sure, but we should tell the captain about this." Tom said.

The Doctor stopped scanning, and lowered his device. "Lieutenant, I believe you may also want to add something else to your report to the captain. I believe I have found the cause of his headaches."

"You have?" Chris asked rubbing his temple again. "What's causing them?"

"I've discovered an unknown device in his cerebral cortex on the right side of his brain." The Doctor said calmly.

Chris knew that to the others he had gone pale. He was not keen on hearing that an unknown device was inside him, let alone in his brain.

"It appears to be of Borg design." the hologram said raising his device to scan again.

"Paris to the Captain," Tom said touching his metal communicator as he stepped back away from Chris.

_"Janeway here, what is it Lieutenant?"_

"Captain, I think you should come to sickbay, the Doctor's found something interesting. You may consider bringing Seven along too." Tom said.

_"We're on our way. Janeway out."_

Sil had heard the commotion at the other end of the room, she left Ret's side and started to move towards them. As she got close she seemed to notice that he was afraid. "What has happened?"

"They found a device in my brain..." Chris said grimly.

Sil's expression turned to worry, she moved closer to the bed where he was sitting and looked him in the eyes. After a long moment she turned to the Doctor. "Is it any danger to him?"

"As far as I can tell, other than the headaches, no, but I'm only speculating until I know what it's purpose is." he replied while he continued to scan.

The door to the sickbay opened and Janeway entered followed by the woman with the metal on her brow, Seven of Nine.

"What have you found doctor?" the Captain asked as she approached. Seven of Nine moved to stand beside Tom who had moved even further away, it almost seemed Tom was scared of him.

"I've found a device in his cerebral cortex, it is the cause of the headaches he's been experiencing, although I don't know it's true purpose, I appears to be of Borg design." the Doctor repeated for the newcomers.

While Janeway seemed stricken by the doctors statement, Seven of Nine seemed interested.

"Borg?" Janeway echoed.

"May I?" Seven of Nine asked from beside him, she had moved closer to Chris without him noticing, and her beautiful deep voice had startled him.

"Er...Yes." Chris said hesitantly. Seven picked up another device from the small tray opposite the bed and placed it on his temple, where it then stayed in place without any support that he could tell.

"This is a cortical scanner, it will allow us to get a more accurate picture of the device." she explained, and then nodded to the Doctor.

Janeway, Seven and the Doctor then moved over to a console in the center of the room. Chris looked past them to see what was being displayed.  
The shape of the device appeared on the screen and Seven began to analyze it.

"You are correct Doctor, it is a Borg design, however, it is not unlike my own Translation matrix, it allows the Borg to communicate with species the collective is about to assimilate, otherwise the message 'you will be assimilated' would never make any sense." Seven said, "However, this device seems less sophisticated, I would say it has a very limited range."

"So that's why you could always understand me, we haven't been far enough apart since we met." Sil said, who was still standing beside Chris.

"Is there any danger to him?" Janeway asked, and Chris had just been wondering the same thing.

"No, it is a benign device, it only acts as a translator." Seven said and Chris breathed in relief.

"What about his headaches." Tom asked moving closer to Chris, he seemed less afraid than he had been.

"A simple re-calibration will fix that, it seems the device was calibrated while he was unconscious, so whomever installed it didn't know it would cause headaches." Seven stated. Chris couldn't help but think her voice sounded cold and calculated as she explained all of this.

"Why didn't the transporters detect it?" Tom asked.

Seven continued to analyze the device and its design. "It appears to be coded to match his DNA, any scans that are not actually looking specifically in that area would most likely assume it was part of him."

"How is this even possible, we detected Borg technology on board the Causality, and now we find even more evidence of Borg involvement." Janeway said as she began to pace, trying to piece it all together.

"Mister Moss, please do not move. I will re-calibrate the device." Seven said as she picked up a medical instrument. Chris sat still as she proceeded to do as she said. His headache began to fade, and after a moment, was gone.

"The pain is gone, thank you." Chris said as Seven put down the device.

"It should no longer bother you." she said stepping back, she then turned and again strode over to the console that displayed the Borg device.

"Captain, who are these Borg you keep speaking of?" Sil asked. Janeway stopped pacing at this question. She seemed hesitant to answer.

"They are a collective of beings that incorporate technology onto their bodies as they seek perfection. The problem is, as they seek perfection they assimilate other species against their will and force them to do their bidding." Janeway explained.

"Assimilate?" Chris asked.

"The Borg remove all individuality from assimilated beings, as such they no longer have a choice in any of their own actions." Seven said bluntly from where she worked.

The room went quiet for a moment, Sil's eyes were wide with horror, and Chris felt the same apprehension she must be feeling.

Seven turned to look at them. "Do not worry, I am no longer a part of the collective, and having experienced reclaiming my individuality, I would not wish assimilation on anyone."

Sil seemed to become less tense, and Chris felt much less apprehensive. It was no wonder Tom had said Seven's story was complicated. Of course, he now knew why the Captain had sounded so afraid when the Doctor told her about the borg device, and why Tom has stepped back from him before.

The room suddenly shuddered slightly. It was barely noticeable but everyone seemed to have felt it.

An alarm started to sound, and Chakotay's voice sounded from the communication system._ "Red Alert, Captain Janeway to the Bridge."_

Janeway gave a quick glance to everyone present, nodded at Seven and said, "Seven, you stay here and analyze the device further. Tom your with me."

The Captain and Paris left sickbay. Seven continued to scan, and the Doctor moved over to Ret and began to scan him.

Sil looked around the room as it slightly shuddered again. Chris wondered what was happening, and he knew she was wondering the same thing.


	21. Book 1 : Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**  
_Like Water, Upon Rock_

Janeway stepped out of the turbo lift with Tom behind her. He quickly passed her as she reached the lower level and moved to take his place at conn, still a pointless task, but he needed to be at his station nonetheless.

"Report!" Janeway asked moving towards Chakotay where he stood.

"The Frain are attacking. I'm guessing Tok decided to make his move." Chakotay reported looking away from the view screen to acknowledge her approach.

On the view screen, energy blasts flashed into and out of view. They were being fired from both airborne and shore based weapons of multiple configurations. It seemed they were firing every type of weapon they had at them, from hand held, vehicle mounted.

"Captain, their weapons are causing very minimal damage to the shields, which are now down to fifty nine percent." Tuvok said from his station. "Shall I return fire, the bow phaser strip is still active, even while partially submerged."

"Do they pose any immediate threat?" Janeway asked.

"If their attack remains constant with their current amount of bombardment, our shields would eventually fall in approximately forty four hours. However actual damage would begin to occur to the hull and interior of the ship in approximately twenty eight hours." Tuvok said looking to his readouts.

"That's quite a while, we'll hold off returning fire for now, I think we should give them time to realize they don't pose us much of a threat yet." Janeway said sitting in her command chair.

"Perhaps we should—" Chakotay began to say.

"Captain! I'm detecting a projectile of some kind, Impact with the shields in twelve seconds." Harry shouted.

"Brace for impact!" Janeway shouted as the projectile came into view and quickly rocketed towards them.

Upon the rockets impact with the shields, the ship rocked, and a panel in front of Tom's station at conn spat sparks into the air.

"Shields at forty two percent." shouted Tuvok. "That was a plasma based warhead."

"Perhaps we should open fire after all. Tuvok, target whatever launcher fired that projectile, and destroy it, but do so with the least amount of collateral damage, I don't want any casualties." Janeway ordered. She wouldn't kill anyone over a misunderstanding.

"Aye Captain." Tuvok responded.

On the view screen, the streak of Voyagers phasers burst from the water, it's target located in the distance on the shoreline. After the beam ceased, a small fire could be seen.

"The launcher has been destroyed." Tuvok stated.

"No life signs in that area have been harmed." Harry said from Ops.

"Now, Mr. Tuvok, target the nearest attacking airborne vessel, but disable it only." Janeway said. "We need to show them we won't just sit and take this assault."

On the view screen, another phaser beam steamed from beneath the surface, this time it made contact with one of the attacking aircraft's engines, and then the beam ceased. A stream of smoke began to emit from the damaged aircraft and it began to slowly sink towards the water.

"The aircraft has secondary engines, they are keeping it aloft enough to not crash." Tuvok reported.

"Good, Tuvok continue targeting aircraft and disabling them. Continue the minimal power attacks."

"Aye captain." Tuvok said.

The turbo-lift doors opened and Icheb exited. She had asked him to analyze the borg technology on the Causality, and she knew he was most likely there to report his findings.

"Captain, I have discovered something of interest. The technology on the other vessel is definitely of borg origin, but from the way it is integrated into the other ships systems, it appears it was manufactured for use specifically on a Federation ship." Icheb reported as the firefight outside continued on the view screen.

"They made it for the Federation?" Chakotay asked standing to his feet. "That would mean the borg are either their allies or perhaps, being coerced?

"Unfortunately, until we examine it in person we won't know the whole story." Icheb stated. "The sensors will only tell us so much at this distance."

_"Seven of Nine to the bridge."_

"Go ahead seven." Janeway said, 'What now' she thought to herself.

_"Captain, Sil has requested she be able to contact her people and attempt to get them to cease fire."_ Seven reported.

"Does she think they will listen to her?" Janeway asked.

_"She has said it would be better than not trying at all." _

"Ok, Harry will open a channel, use the Doctors computer." Janeway said pointing to Harry so he would open the channel just as she had said.

"Lets hope she has some success." Chakotay said. "Or we may get to go swimming after all."

* * *

In sickbay Sil and Seven of Nine were in the Doctors office, which was separated from the rest of sickbay by a glass wall. Seven activated the console Sil assumed she would be using and motioned for her to sit in the chair in front of it.

Chris was lying on one of the bio beds in the main room as he needed some rest, and Ret had yet to regain consciousness.

Sil was not injured and she did not feel the need to rest at the moment, so she had opted to do something rather than sit and do nothing. She had to try and convince Tok's men to stop firing, she had to get them to see reason. She knew Tok was already too far in his madness to be brought out, but perhaps she could reach those who followed his orders.

"The channel is open, it is a general signal, so everyone on your planet within its range with the capability will pick it up, to start all you have to do is push this button." Seven said indicating a panel on the desk.

"I didn't think I would be broadcasting on such a wide signal, but I guess the more who listen the better." Sil said, she was nervous to be broadcasting to so many, but she hoped someone would listen. She composed herself for a moment, and then pushed the button on the panel.

"Fellow Frain, I am Head of Astero Sciences Sil, I know almost all of you have been watching the information broadcasts about the alien craft that has crashed in our capital city's harbor, and you have also been watching as a battle has broken out. I must tell you that the aliens did not start this conflict. But a sole Frain has taken it upon himself to start a war against those aboard this craft."

She looked up slightly as the room shuddered, adding some reality to her statement. She composed herself and continued.

"This Frain, who wishes speak for us all through violence, is Head of Defense Tok. The main purpose of his position is defense, not to fire on a vessel of beings who do not wish to fight. I am aboard the alien craft as I speak, and have met them personally, I know they wish to seek friendship and not hostilities. I beg any of you who have the power to stop Tok and his mad quest for destruction, to do so. Please do not let our first contact with another intelligent species be in vain."

She paused for a moment, and looked down at her hands. She knew that her grief, and her remorse at her own peoples actions showed through her expression. She continued without looking back at the monitor.

"Do not let our children live in a future who's past bears such a bloody mark. The beings on this ship are of many races, for they have sought peace among diversity. Let us seek the same peace, by not turning to war when we can prosper from friendship. They have opened their hands in greeting, shall we not also do so?

She looked up at the monitor again, this time with a tear in her eye. She knew what she was about to state would impact her people greatly, and she had not wanted to be the one to impart such information.

"I am sad to report, that our beloved Leader Wro has been murdered. Murdered at the hands of the same Frain who leads this very attack, Tok. Please, do what you know is right, and stop this madman, stop the attack, I beg of you."

She knew stating Tok's name publicly without his title was as big as an insult as she could muster, and he would be angered by it. But he deserved no such title any longer. She nodded to Seven that she was done, and she disabled the feed for her.

"That was a great speech." Chris said, getting her attention. He must have moved to stand in the doorway at some point during her transmission.

"Indeed." Seven agreed.

"Thank you, I just hope I get through to someone." Sil said as she stood, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "This whole situation has spoiled my mood."

Chris looked behind himself and then faced her again, "Well, here is something that will cheer you up, I came in to tell you that Ret has woken up.

Sil felt a rush of relief flush through her. She followed Chris and Seven into the main part of sickbay were Ret was siting up. Ret seemed afraid and flinched as the doctor attempted to scan him.

"Its alright Ret, he's a friend." Sil reassured him.

Ret saw her and Chris approaching and smiled, he looked relieved.

"It seems we got out of that mess we were in... But how did we get here, wherever here is?" He asked looking around, and then at Seven and the Doctor.

"We're on the craft that crashed in the harbor. Its called Voyager. The beings on this vessel are very hospitable." Sil said reaching out and squeezing Rets hand.

The room shuddered and Ret seemed fearful again, but before he could ask anything Chris spoke up.

"Tok is attacking." He said, "Sil just sent a message to your people to see if anyone will help us stop him."

"You'll be happy to know, your friend will be fine, and requires no more treatment, you may all leave sickbay at your leisure." The doctor said finishing his scan.

"Thank you doctor." Chris said, "Is there somewhere we can go to clean up?."

"I have already taken the consideration of setting up temporary quarters for you all. Seven will you show them there?"

"Yes Doctor, if you will follow me." Seven said turning to leave sickbay. Chris helped Ret off the bio bed and Sil noticed he didn't seem afraid of Chris anymore.

As they left sickbay, Sil watched as Chris thanked the doctor once more and they clasped each others hands and moved them up and down. She assumed it was a way humans thanked one another. When Frain thanked each other they would hold one hand to their heart and slowly bring it towards the one they were thanking. If the person being thanked accepted the thanks they would start with their hand outward and then move it towards their heart.

"For a hologram, the Doctor is a nice guy." Chris said as they walked down the corridor that lead to the turbo lift.

"Hologram?" Ret asked as they waited for the doors to open.

"Yeah, that's what Tom, one of the crew members, told me." Chris said.

"They have many wonderful technologies on this ship." Ret said in awe as they neared the turbo lift. As the doors opened to allow them access, Seven turned and addressed them all.

"May I talk to Chris alone for a moment?" she asked.

"I don't see why not." Sil said and looked to the human next to her, seeing that Chris looked as puzzled as she was.

"Please, wait inside the turbo lift a moment." Seven said motioning them to enter, "Computer hold turbo lift at present location, close doors until further notice."

The doors to the turbo lift closed and Ret and Sil were left in the small round space alone. Ret turned to her.

"It seems it is we who are now out of place among aliens. Chris has found his kind, so perhaps we should ask them if we can leave the ship and return to our people?"

Sil thought over what he had said. She knew and shared his apprehension to stay among aliens, but she also knew she had promised Captain Janeway to help with the mystery involving the Causality.

"You can ask to leave if you wish, but I am staying. I told them that I would help them anyway I could, and I stick by that promise."

"I see. If you are staying then I suppose I should stay as well. But if the situation goes sour I will ask to leave, and at that time I beg you to come too." Ret said.

"I do no see any reason to worry, we are—"She began to say, but the doors to the lift opened once more and Seven and Chris entered. Chris looked to be contemplating something and Sil wondered what Seven had said to him?

After Seven said the command, the lift began its journey to deck three. Sil noticed that during the transition, Chris seemed preoccupied. She would have to ask him what was going on when Seven wasn't around. When the lift arrived, all four exited and walked down the corridor. Seven stopped in front of a door and it opened.

"You each have your own quarters, this one, and those two over there." Seven said nodding down the corridor as another man approached. "This crewman will wait here in the corridor if you need any assistance."

"Thank you Seven. And about what you said before, I know you don't have anything to worry about." Chris said.

Seven seemed to contemplate his statement, nodded and then she left.

Before Chris entered his room, Sil caught up to him. "Chris, what was that all about?"

Chris looked over towards the crewman who was conversing with Ret about the rooms. He then motioned for her to follow him into his room.

When the doors closed behind them, he turned to her. "She asked me if I truly believe you have good intentions. She had the notion that Tok may not be the only Frain to think in such a way as he does. I told her that even though I have only known you a short time, you have only shown me kindness."

"I see, so she doesn't trust us?" Sil asked.

"Seven seemed to have doubts, she said something about statistics and xenophobia, but it doesn't matter what she thinks. What really matters in the end is what actions you take. And I'm sure they will all be good actions." Chris said smiling at her which caused her to feel flush, so she smiled back.

Sil turned to leave and as the doors opened Chris said. "I'll see you in a bit. Don't go to far. You're the only thing that makes me feel comfortable here."

Sil turned and met her gaze with his until the doors closed again. Again she smiled and then she entered her own room.


	22. Book 1 : Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**  
_Fury_

Tok leaned back and touched the back of his hand to his face, the scar the alien had given him itched. In all his years of military service, none of his injuries had affected him so emotionally. Perhaps it was that his injury was one sustained at the hands of an alien, or that he had miscalculated the ability of one called Chris.

When he had first laid eyes on the sand colored alien, he had seen a weak and meager creature. And during the exchange of fire in the cell block, he hadn't even considered the alien would be able to be so accurate with a weapon of Frain design. No. It must have been a lucky shot. That could be the only explanation.

Tok looked to the wall where a display showed the progress of the attack on the alien craft, Voyager.

Although four Scavengers had been disabled and two launchers were destroyed, his technicians had informed him that the power output of the aliens barrier had dropped after the initial attack. Tok took this as a sign they had done some damage. He smiled at that.

Tok looked to his left. His second in command stood in front of his desk. He was also viewing the data being displayed.

"Sir, shall I order a cease fire? "His second asked, "Sil's broadcast was heard by almost half the population and the other half will hear it on the re-broadcast by the hourly information cast."

"Cease fire?" Tok said angrily losing his smile, "Why stop the attack? Sil is under the influence of an invading alien force, and the people of our planet are too smart to fall into her lies."

"And, what If she's telling the truth? After all, what she said about Leader Wro is true after all." His second offered. Tok began to feel as if his second was losing sight of the purpose they had, the reason they had to fight.

"I will hear no such nonsense coming from you!" Tok shouted standing to his feet. "Shall I relieve you of your duty, or will you follow my orders and continue the assault?"

His second stood quietly for a moment and then coldly said, "The aliens seem to have reacted in defense and all of their actions also seem to be coordinated so that no one is hurt. I'm sorry sir, but until this matter has been sorted out by a committee I can not be sure what to believe is the truth. So I hereby resign as your second in command and ask for reassignment."

Tok stared into the eyes of his delinquent soldier and then said, "I'm sorry, but I cant allow you to not be with me."

Tok quickly reached into the desk and withdrew a pulse pistol and then proceeded to aim it at his former second. Many times in his past, Tok had been forced to weed out the bad seeds in his command. But until this moment, he had never felt the need so badly to remove this one.

"You wouldn't ...kill me." the soldier stuttered stepping back away from him.

"I would, and will." Tok said, and did.

Tok lowered the weapon and looked down at his former second. He was dead, and Tok wouldn't have had it any other way. The death any traitor deserved.

And Sil was next.

* * *

Tuvok had successfully disabled four of the attacking fighters and destroyed another launcher before it had become a threat, all without harming anyone. Janeway smiled at his accuracy. She stood to her feet, the battle, if she would call it that, was still in process. The oncoming fire had however slowed to random, occasional shots from the shore.

"Captain, it seems they are deciding on how to proceed. From the communiques I'm intercepting and the broadcasts from their news reports, it look's as if the Frain are seeking out Tok and are demanding a response to Sil's claims." Harry said from ops.

"So, she got through to most of them. Good, perhaps this Tok will be run out of power." Chakotay said as he moved to stand beside her.

Janeway turned to walk back to her command chair, and saw Icheb who stood at Seven's usual station. She had tasked him with analyzing the scans of the projectile the Frain had used to damage the shields so badly.

"Captain, There is planet wide broadcast in progress. I think you should see this. It's one of the hourly information bulletins for the Frain people." Harry said.

"Put it on screen." Janeway said sitting in her chair.

The view screen changed from the slowing Frain assault to the face of a Frain woman. Behind the woman a crowd was gathered and we're shouting something.

"Head Information gatherer Zea reporting as it happens, We are here at the central government hall where the report of Leader Wro's assassination at the hands of Chief of Defense Tok has led to a crowd of civilian protestors demanding Tok come forward. Some of the protestors have brought weapons and are demanding justice for the death of the Leader. While no proof to his death has been found beyond the statements by Head of Astero Sciences Sil, his absence from the public eye during this crisis has created an uproar in the city and around the planet."

Behind the reporter, a Frain man in uniform holding a weapon fired into the air and everyone around him scattered. The man noticed the reporter and moved over to her, he then looked into the recorder and said.

"I am Head of Civil Security, Yor. Things here are escalating out of control. I do not know if Head of Astero Sciences Sil can hear this broadcast, but many are demanding she come before this crowd and state her claim in person. If the aliens aboard the vessel in the harbor are indeed seeking friendship as Sil claims, then they should be here to state their intentions as well. We need help. Panic will lead to world rioting. We ask you for assistance, please help us."

The screen flickered and then went blank.

"That's it, the tower they were broadcasting from was just destroyed, it seems that security officer was right, I'm picking up reports of rioting all over the planet." Harry reported.

"It seems we are no longer the main topic of conversation. Their government is collapsing, partly in due to our arrival." Chakotay said as he sat down.

"We need to do something." Janeway said. "We can't let ourselves be the cause of worldwide destruction. Harry save that broadcast and send it to Sil's quarters. I'll inform her as to what has happened."

"Yes ma'am" Harry replied as she entered the turbo lift.

Janeway waited for the lift to arrive at her requested destination an then she exited the lift on deck three. There in the corridor she saw Ensign Vorhees standing outside Ret's quarters talking to him.

"Ensign, Will you please get Chris and have him meet us in Sil's quarters." Janeway ordered and nodded to Ret and then motioned towards Sil's door.

"There is something we need to discuss. Please, after you."

Janeway chimed Sil's door and after a moment Sil's voice came from the speaker, _"You may enter."_

The doors opened and as they entered Chris and Vorhees appeared behind them and entered as well. Janeway nodded to Vorhees and he exited and stood just outside the door, it then closed. She knew he would stand guard outside.

Janeway looked at the two Frain and human who moved to sit across from her. It had been almost two hours since they had been given quarters and they now looked clean and rested. They had even changed into standard starfleet civilian clothing.

"I hope you all found everything you needed." Janeway stated courteously.

"Oh yes, Ensign Vorhees was kind enough to show us everything our quarters had to offer." Chris said as he leaned back and got comfortable on the couch.

"The ship has stopped shuddering, has the attack ended?" Ret asked looking out the windows that lined the quarters. Sil looked at Ret scornfully. Perhaps Sil felt it unnecessary to jump right into business. Janeway however felt it was a good thing he had, because she wanted to get right to the point.

"It seems we are no longer the most important issue among your people. While we are part of the problem, it seems your government is collapsing and riots are breaking out all over the planet. Tok has caused quite a stir by killing your leader." Janeway said.

"Riots? Sil asked utterly shocked, "Our people haven't rioted for hundreds of years. Are the rioters demanding anything?"

"We intercepted one of your peoples information broadcasts, perhaps watching it will explain." Janeway said, she stood and moved over to the computer and activated it, she loaded the broadcast and played it.

Sil and Ret watched and listened to the whole broadcast, while Chris only listened, he seemed preoccupied. After the replay was finished Sil stood.

"Captain, If they wish me to speak in person I must. I must do what I can to calm the rioters." Sil urgently said.

"They did ask for us to be there as well, so I will go and assist you," Janeway said, "Chris, will you accompany us? You did witness Wro's murder after all."

"Yes captain, I feel partly responsible for all of this, I'm not sure how but I feel my presence here has been the root of all these troubles." Chris said rubbing the back of his neck as he stood.

"You had no way of preventing any of this, blaming yourself is unwarranted." Sil said reassuringly.

"I agree, you're lost, just as we are. This mystery can only be solved if we all work together and seek the answers." Janeway said.

Ret stood, joining everyone else who had already opted to stand. "I will go as well. We will all stand together."

"Yes. For peace." Chris said smiling.


	23. Book 1 : Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**  
_Entity_

Janeway frustratingly stood in the center of the transporter room. Tuvok was at the controls and was reading over the console display. Beside him B'Elanna shook her head. She had reported to Janeway earlier that transporting Chris and the Two Frain had taxed the Delta Flyers transporters the last time they used them, she had even had to beam them in one at a time. Something about the field they had passed through had caused interference in even the Flyers systems, which had in time, failed themselves. So now, B'Elanna was trying to fix the more advanced transporter systems that were built into Voyager, which on a normal day, could be tuned to filter out such interference.

"Its no use captain, the entity is still in the buffer system." B'Elanna said, crossing her arms. "We won't be able to use these transporters unless we can get it out of there somehow."

"Entity?" Chris asked. Janeway looked up over at the lost human and his two companions. Chris was leaning against the far wall, beside him Sil and Ret were talking quietly about the riots. She knew that these three were the only hope to stopping the catastrophic events happening on the planet and she had no way to get them where they needed to be.

"When we passed through the field surrounding this solar system, a type of life form made of tachyon energy entered into our ship's systems and is preventing our use of the transporters." Janeway said and noticed that Sil had taken notice of their conversation when the word field had been spoken.

"I've been meaning to ask you about the field captain. What means did you use to pass through it? All the vessels that have tried to from this side have been destroyed." Sil said.

"Unfortunately, I'm not sure how we did it. We didn't even detect the field until we had collided with it. And before passing through it this solar system was no where in our direct path." Janeway explained.

Behind them the console in front of Tuvok and B'Elanna beeped.

"Captain, the entity is fluctuating. I believe it is attempting to activate the transporter!" B'Elanna said suddenly looking up.

The whine of the transporter grew loud and sharp causing everyone in the room to cover their ears. The sound grew louder and louder, and the lights in the room dimmed slightly.

"It's and overload!" B'Elanna yelled over the screeching which began to lessen as some of the excess power began draining into the buffer system.

Janeway turned to face the pad of the transporter to see what was happening and was surprised to see the form of a humanoid being slowly rematerialized. Chris moved beside her and stared in horror as if he was seeing a ghost.

"Tobias..." Chris whispered. Janeway had almost not been able to make out what he said.

"The system is crashing! Whoever it is, they're only partly formed!" Tuvok yelled seconds before sparks spat from the pad. Janeway shoved Chris out of the way of the electric explosion.

After the smoke had cleared Janeway was already standing again and had rushed over to what was left of the pad.

In the center, lay a partly formed man. His upper body was deformed and his lower body was nonexistent. She stared in horror at the person in front of her. She knelt when she saw an eyelid open. He was alive.

"Help...me..." he said gasping between words.

"I don't know how," Janeway said peering into his one fully formed eye.

"Help me please!" he said again, but to her surprise she didn't see his mouth move. "I can't feel my body!"

"You're a telepath." Janeway whispered. She opened her mind to him and spoke within herself so he could understand her. "_You are going to die, you must tell us who you are and where you came from. Please, help us while you still can_."

The eye she peered into closed for a moment and then reopened, its focus was behind Janeway. She turned to see he was gazing at Chris who stood silently at the edge of the pad staring back into the eyes of the dying telepath.

Janeway looked back into the telepath's eye. He had refocused on her and his thoughts entered her mind.

_"He must complete the mission."_

Janeway needed more, "_What mission?"_

The form on the pad started to quiver as his body functions began to fail even more. He gasped and look hard into Janeway's eyes. _"You must disperse the field. The Frain must become free. They will stop them, they will stop the destroyers."_

Janeway closed her eyes and concentrated,_ "Who are the destroyers?"_

_"Delta...Federation... please. You must...stop the destroyers... the web..."_

Janeway opened her eyes, and stared at the form in front of her. His eye closed slowly and his body stopped quaking.

"He's dead." she softly said over her shoulder.

"Tobias..." Chris said again. "Why did you bring me here..."

"How do you know his name?" Janeway asked as she stood and faced the motionless Chris.

"I... I had a dream about his parents dying." he said.

Janeway looked back at the dead telepath. What had formed looked human, but judging from the telepathy she guessed he was a Batazoid.

"Captain I can have the transporters repaired in less than an hour." B'Elanna said as she assessed the damage.

"Understood, Janeway to the Doctor."

_"Yes Captain?"_ the Doctor replied via the comlink.

"Could you please come to the transporter room?" Janeway said, "The entity has just materialized in the transporter room. Unfortunately it didn't fully form and is dead. I want you to do an autopsy as soon as possible so we can determine what's going on."

_"I'm on my way, Captain."_

Janeway turned to Chris who was still looking at the one he had called Tobias. His fists were clenched and he had a blank expression on his face.

"Chris, what exactly did you see in this dream?" she asked him. Chris turned and looked at her and closed his eyes.

"I was on a planet named Batazed, yet I have no idea how I know that place even exists. I was seeing everything from his perspective. He was a little boy in his home about to go out and play. His parents were talking to him, yet, at some points not talking to him. It didn't make much sense."

"Batazed is a planet of telepaths, it probably how you have some of his memories, he must have given them to you somehow. What happened next?" Janeway asked.

"The room shook, and I, ... I mean Tobias, was on his back in the burning rubble. It was an attack, and everything was burning." Chris said and started to shake.

Janeway noticed that behind Chris, Sil saw his discomfort and moved closer to him where she then took his hand in her own. He looked at her slowly then back at Janeway.

"There were ships in the sky. Huge, massive, all Tobias could say was... monsters." he said and then looked again at Tobias.

The doors behind Janeway opened and the Doctor entered followed by two ensigns carrying a stretcher. The Doctor knelt beside the half formed body and started to scan.

At that point Janeway first noticed Tobias's torn uniform, it was a uniform that seemed to fit federation standards, however she would have had to say it was a uniform that was unlike any in starfleet history.

"His uniform suggests he's from another time. And the fact nothing like what your describing has ever happened on Batazed, I assume he was part of the Causality crew." she said looking back to Chris.

"It's happened, or it's going to happen... I know it." He replied. She could see a tear in his eye. "I can feel it inside me, like I was there."

Chris turned and moved to the back of the transporter room, closely followed by Sil who was still holding his hand, comforting him. Janeway shook her head, nothing was making sense. She had people from the past, a ship with technology beyond what they had in the present, Borg involvement. And now an event that had never happened, but could some day. And then there was the field around this solar system, made up of the same energy as the entity had been, were they all connected?

B'Elanna walked by her and started to open panels on the side of the transporter pad. Janeway looked around the room at everything that was happening. Everyone there seemed to be lost in their own thoughts or busy doing their jobs. All except Ret who was just standing and watching everyone else, like Janeway was. Ret took notice that she was looking at him and moved over to her with a serious look on his face.

"Captain, I'm not sure if this has anything to do with what's going on, but before I rescued Sil and Chris from the holding cells I had received a report from one of my researchers that the field around our solar system reduced in size by almost point zero five percent when you passed through it." he told her, then he shook his head, "I would have said something sooner, but with everything that's been happening, I just forgot."

"It's alright Ret. You say it shrank?" Janeway asked him seeking more clarification.

"Yes, satellite scans definitely showed that the space our planetary system occupies was point zero five percent smaller than it had been." He explained. "It has been a constant size for as long as we could scan it, so clearly something has changed.

Janeway turned to Tuvok who was checking for damage to the transporter control console.

"Tuvok, report to the Astrometrics Lab. I want You and Seven to run a scan of the field and compare it to our original scans. Look for anything out of the ordinary."

"Aye Captain," Tuvok said, nodded and then exited the room with his orders clearly being the only thing on his mind.

On the transporter pad the Doctor and the two ensigns had finished placing the corpse on the stretcher and were about to move it out of the room when Chris suddenly stepped forward.

"Wait!" he cried, his voice cracking slightly.

The Doctor and his entourage stopped and looked at him. For that matter so did everyone else in the room.

Chris released Sil's hand and slowly walked over to the body which was now covered in a blue sheet. He gently placed his hand on the sheet and closed his eyes.

"Rest in peace friend... you have lost much. I will do my best to do what I was brought here for." He said, then he lifted his hand and looked directly at the wall in front of him, "Whatever it is that I'm supposed to do..."

He then nodded to the Doctor who nodded back and continued out the door followed by the ensigns carrying the stretcher.

"Chris..." Sil whispered from behind him, "Are you going to be ok?"

Chris turned and looked around the room at all the faces now watching him. He seemed very collected now.

"I feel as if I have lost a friend that I never had the chance to meet. But I'm ready." he said calmly, pain registering more in his eye's than on his face.

"Ready for what?" Ret asked.

"For whatever lay ahead." he replied. Janeway now saw that while he had pain there, there was no longer any fear in his eyes.


	24. Book 1 : Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**  
_A Broadcasters Dream_

On the bridge, Chakotay was sitting in the center chair. Harry Kim had been able to re-establish a connection with the news broadcast's being transmitted by the Frain. Apparently when the news of meeting the aliens had been announced the riots on the planet had come to an abrupt standstill.

Chakotay, Tom and Harry watched the view screen as it now displayed the broadcast.

On the screen was the same Frain woman who had been reporting during the last broadcast they intercepted. She was tall, slender and very beautiful. Tom turned and looked back at Harry and made a motion towards the screen.

"There you go Harry. She's not a borg, a hologram, the wrong twin, dead, or a psychopathic racer. Maybe you can ask her out on a date?"  
"Very funny Tom," Harry said. "Just be quiet so I can hear the broadcast."

Chakotay smiled to himself. It was refreshing to hear such humor even with the dire situation they were in. He watched as the woman on the screen began to repeat her last few statements for those who had just started watching.

"Head Information Gatherer Zea reporting as it happens, The cities central square is the most crowded it has ever been. Everyone here is standing shoulder to shoulder waiting for the arrival of the aliens and Head of Astero Sciences Sil. According to our sources, the security forces have received confirmation that they will be arriving soon and that no one is to stand at the top of the stairs to the Government Center building." Reporter Zea looked off towards one of the the nearby buildings. "There have also been reports that Tok has been seen in Leader Wro's office, which is inside the Government Center building. There have been whispers that Tok has even killed one of his own officers. This of course adding to the possibility that Sil was correct in her accusations of Tok's murder of Leader Wro."

Behind Zea there was a stirring and murmur in the crowd that caught her attention.

"It appears there is something happening at the top of the stairs. A blue light, shimmering." she reported as the camera focused on the forms being materialized.

As Captain Janeway, Chris, Sil and Ret finished being transported in, the crowd became frightened and started to talk among themselves.

Chakotay grinded his teeth together. He had wanted to send Tuvok or another security officer along with the Captain for safety, but she had said she could handle it. He knew she was probably right but he couldn't help but worry.

"It appears that Sil has arrived by some unknown means, perhaps a technology of the aliens who are now standing beside her." Zea said looking into the camera which had refocused on her when she began to speak, she made a motion for whoever was holding the camera to focus on the new arrivals rather than herself. "It appears they have the same body structure that we have, yet many of their other features are strange."

"Who is she calling strange?" Tom said with a grin.

"You have to remember Tom, they've never seen another intelligent species like them before. Maybe you should have gone and they wouldn't have been as surprised." Harry said and then chuckled.

On the screen the camera was zoomed in on Janeway, and Zea was explaining about her physical features for any Frain who was listening to the broadcast rather than watching it.

"She appears to be rather short for a female, and the one beside her appears to be male, yet he is taller than she is." Zea said sounding awestruck,"Their skin appears to be a sort of pasty sand color. And their hair is very oddly colored indeed, almost rebellious by our standards."

The camera zoomed out to show the entire party standing at the top of the stair. Chakotay could see that they were all standing still to allow the crowd time to acclimate to their presence. After a moment or two more, Sil stepped forward.

"It seems Head of Astero Sciences Sil is about to say something. Let us listen." Zea said and with that the camera zoomed in on Sil. Chakotay noticed that Sil seemed calm and ready to speak to her fellow Frain. He admired her strength in this situation.

Sil raised her hand above her head and then slowly brought it down in front of her. After a quick pause she then pulled her extended hand towards her slowly. The massive crowd hushed almost immediately in reaction to her motions.

"I am Head of Astero Sciences Sil. I have come here to make my claim in person that Head of Defense Tok has murdered Leader Wro."

The crowd became agitated, and some shouting was heard, although Chakotay couldn't tell what exactly was being shouted.

"Please listen and bear witness. Beside me stand new friends. They have not come here to harm us. In truth they are here by accident and Tok willfully attacked them after they had proposed peaceful communication between our two people. I feel ashamed to have our first meeting with those from beyond our world to be a hostile one." She stated.

Again the crowd began to stir, but they seemed in favor of what Sil was saying. She continued after another moment. "I would like to introduce two of them to you now." Sil said moving to stand beside Janeway. "This female, is the captain of the vessel which has crashed in our harbor. The vessel is called Voyager and her name is Captain Kathryn Janeway."

The crowd started to murmur once more, apparently something about the captains name was interesting. Chakotay hadn't even thought about the fact that Sil, Tok, Wro and Ret all had extremely short names until he noticed the crowds reaction. He wondered as to why that was.

"One thing you should know about these people is that their names are much longer than those we are used to. So please, bear with them."

"Next I wish to introduce someone. Someone who has shown me nothing but kindness and trust since the moment I met him. His name is Christopher Moss."

The bridge crew watched as Sil continued on. She explained how Chris had been on the ship that had crashed on the planet long ago. She spoke of how Tok had been keeping that same ship a secret from the people of Fra. Janeway and Chris exchanged glances when Sil mentioned being transported to Voyager from the cell block. Sil spoke ever onward and the crowd listened, amazed at the events being told. At one point the crowd even cheered when Sil mentioned the speech she had made over the broadcasts. Chakotay assumed the crowd had now accepted her claim as the truth and she was quickly becoming an iconic figure all over the planet.

"Now, Captain Janeway, if you would like to address the planet and our off-world outposts, we would be honored." Sil said stepping back.

Janeway didn't looked phased about speaking to what Sil had told them was almost ten billion frain. She stepped forward.

"On behalf of the Federation of Planets, I, Captain Kathryn Janeway, open our hands to you the people of the planet Fra in hopes of friendship. As you have been told by Head of Astero Sciences Sil, we are a long way from home. But that doesn't mean we still can't make friends with those we encounter."

Janeway let the crowd take in what she had said, and then continued. "Again I would like to say that we come in peace and we would be grateful if the attacks on our vessel would cease."

The crowd seemed to be taking it all very well, and seemed to agree on everything that was being said. Chakotay was pleased that things had gone this well. However, just as he had the thought, the camera suddenly jutted to the left and zoomed out. Reporter Zea's face appeared again on the screen, she seemed utterly excited about something.

"It appears Tok has just arrived!."

The camera quickly fumbled and rotated to a door on the side of the building to the right of where Janeway and everyone stood, where it then steadied. There standing facing them was Tok.

"This should be interesting." Tom said.

"Harry, keep and open channel with the transporter room. I want to be able to get them out of there at the first sign of trouble." Chakotay said.

Since the captain hadn't wanted Tuvok to accompany her, Chakotay instead had ordered Tuvok to man the transporter controls. He knew Tuvok had been working with Seven in the astrometrics lab on scanning the field, but Chakotay felt Tuvok should be in the transporter room during this event. And he wouldn't have had it any other way since Tuvok had the quickest reaction time out of all of them, besides of course, Seven and Icheb.

"Yes, Commander." Ensign Kim replied.

On the screen, Tok exited the doorway and slowly walked towards Sil. Behind him were two frain soldiers with weapons.

The crowed began to shout things at Tok. Almost all of the remarks were derogatory, but he ignored them. He slowly scanned the large crowd and then focused entirely on Chris and Chris alone.

He started to speak causing the crowed to become hushed once more.

"So Sil, you bring our enemy here to the heart of our Government Center. It seems you are even more a traitor than I first thought."

"They are not our enemies Tok." Sil said stepping closer to him. It was a defiant move on her part Chakotay imagined, but she seemed intent on making a stand then and there.

"I beg to differ, why else would they come here?" Tok said angrily. "Why do you think there vessel is equipped with such destructive weaponry?"

"Our weapons are used for defense only." Janeway said appealing to the crowd. Then she faced Tok, "It was you who fired upon us. And when we did fire back to defend ourselves, we made sure not to harm anyone."

"Ha! A likely story to get the planets population to think you are on their side until you have the chance to strike." he replied and then waved his arm over the crowd and addressed them. "Look at you all! You are buying into their ruse!"

"You killed Leader Wro." Sil said abruptly.

The crowd turned their attention to Tok and he turned and glared at Sil. Then he smiled which was a strange change of attitude with what she had just said, "Yes, I did. I freely admit I killed a traitor."

The crowd became upset and began to yell. Chris stepped forward and held up his hands to try and quite the crowd. He was only partially successful, but he began to speak anyway. "Tok killed Leader Wro while he was reaching his hand to me in friendship. It is Tok who is the traitor."

Tok seemed angered by the fact that Chris had said he was a traitor and he pulled his weapon and aimed it at him. Chris took notice of this and turned to face Tok. He stood defiantly, not showing any fear.

"If you shoot me you only prove your guilt further. All you want is conflict, for without conflict your position in this government is useless. This is why you are afraid of peace." Chris said with an air of wisdom Chakotay wouldn't have expected from him.

Everyone in the crowd took Chris's point to heart and started to yell at Tok. Tok seemed ready to fire, and Chris looked as if he would stand and take the shot without even trying to dodge it.

"Tuvok, get him out of there!" Chakotay said jumping to his feet.

There was a flash on the view screen and a few screams were heard as the crowd began to scatter. Tok's plasma bolt had intersected the wall behind where Chris had been standing. It looked like he had dematerialized just in time. The camera man and Zea had stood their ground and continued to transmit. They seemed like a stalwart news crew.

Janeway was quick on her feet and had already disarmed Tok with a quick blow to his hand. The two Frain with weapons behind Tok quickly raised them and aimed at Sil and Ret. The Captain quickly took notice of this and stopped her struggle with Tok.

"Very smart Captain, Now... where did that alien who scarred my face go?" Tok said picking up his weapon an aiming it at Janeway.

"Exactly where you're about to go." Janeway said nodding to the reporter. Confused Tok looked directly into the Information Gather's camera, his eye's growing wide as he realized what was about to happen.

"You heard her Tuvok, transport him." Chakotay said understanding what she had meant. "Chakotay to security, report to the transporter room and please make sure Tok is placed in the brig."

On the screen, Tok faded into transporter nothingness as Janeway watched him disappear. The two soldiers who had protected him also watched him vanish and must have feared for their own lives because they turned and ran out of sight.

Zea's face appeared again on the screen.

"It appears that Tok has been taken out of our hands by the aliens. Lets see if we can get a word with the Captain."

Zea ran up the steps being followed by the camera.

"Captain, please tell us, what will you do with Tok?"

Janeway realized she was still on camera and made an involuntary move to fix a strand of her hair.

"We will hold him for you until such time that you feel you wish to bring him to justice yourselves under your laws."

"The people of Fra are probably wondering what you will do next." Zea said.

Janeway looked to Sil and then said "We hope to repair our vessel and after that, only time will tell."

Zea moved over to Sil, Ret could be seen standing behind her. "Head of Astero Sciences Sil, what are your plans now? With our Leader gone the people will be looking to elect a new one. Would you consider running for this position?"

"That reporter sure is curious and full of questions." Tom said, "Are you sure she's not for you Harry?"

Harry smiled but continued to work at his console.

Chakotay sat again in the command chair and continued to watch the broadcast.

"I do not feel I would adequately fill the job requirements." Sil replied to Zea's question. "Also, right now, I am currently helping our new friends from the Federation solve a bit of a mystery."

"Oh, a mystery! Can you clarify?" Zea requested eagerly.

"I will do so in time, but now I think we should return to the Voyager. Head of Sciences Ret will gladly stay and answer your questions."  
Ret came into view and he nodded to Sil. He began to answer Zea's seemingly endless questions.

Sil moved off camera, and the hum of the transporter beaming Janeway and Sil back to Voyager could be heard. The camera quickly turned to try and catch a glimpse of them disappearing but all that could be seen was the aftereffect of the transporter. The camera focused again on Zea.

"Simply amazing!" she said, all the while beaming a smile.


	25. Book 1 : Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**  
_Collapse_

Ten minutes after stepping off the transporter pad, Janeway was standing before Tok who was sitting in his cell fuming. Apparently he had struggled with security all the way from the transporter room, but his smaller height made it easy for them to deal with him. They would have beamed him directly to his cell but the site-to-site transporter buffer had been damaged more than the site-to-platform buffer when Tobias had overloaded it.  
Tok looked up and noticed Janeway. He all but growled at her as he jumped to his feet.

"You have no right to hold me here!" Tok yelled as loud as his lungs would allow him, "I suggest you release me captain! My men will not allow this, you will be destroyed!"

"Actually, we've received word from Ret that your highest ranking officers have taken command of the military and have asked us to hold you until you can be tried for treason, and two accounts of murder."

Tok's eyes widened, he then slowly sat and looked up at her. His short height made him seem even smaller when he sat, Janeway was surprised someone of such small stature could contain so much pure hatred.

"So you have succeeded, your people will invade this unsuspecting world without any resistance." he said after a moment of looking at his hands which he held before him, his palms facing the ceiling. He seemed almost calm all of a sudden.

"Tok, as we told you before we are not invaders." Janeway said shaking her head, "but if you wish to believe it then go right ahead. You can do whatever you want behind this force field. It matters very little to me."

Again Tok looked up at her and made a look of sheer hate that contrasted even more from his calm expression with the scar Chris had given him.

"I will get out of here and kill you all, and leave that damned alien who scarred me for last!" Tok said pointing to his grey discolored face which now had a hint of blue where the scar and bruises were starting to bleed again.

"I'm sure we can actually heal that for you. Our medical technology is a bit more advanced than yours." Janeway offered, at this point all she could do was to try and lower Tok's hate and fear of them.

"You keep your hands off me!" Tok yelled and leaned back seeming almost frightened, "I won't be experimented on!"

Janeway again shook her head, Tok was being extremely paranoid. She didn't even feel safe with him behind the force field. His anger seemed to transmit beyond the field and engulf her. She stepped away from the cell and was about to leave the brig when Tuvok and Seven entered.

"Captain, we have discovered something about the tachyon field surrounding this solar system." said Seven as she held out her hand and offered Janeway a padd.

"What have you found?" Janeway asked looking over their collected data. On the little screen an image of the Frain system was being displayed.

"It appears to have decreased in size three percent since we last scanned it." Tuvok said calmly putting his hands behind his back, "However, as Ret reported before, it was already at a point zero five percent decrease prior to our original scan, the only conclusion we can make is that the field is collapsing in on itself."

Janeway hated bad news but she kept her cool the best she could even if it was in front of her two least emotional crew members, "How much time until the field wall reaches Fra?"

"Approximately fifteen and a half hours." Seven said tilting her head in her usual manor.

"What will happen when it intersects the planet?" Janeway asked dreading the answer.

"As of yet we are unsure, however, Sil did say that anything that had tried to exit from this side of the field was destroyed."

Janeway turned and looked again at the cell Tok occupied. He was walking back and forth angrily.

She turned back to her crew members and thought to herself. They were her friends, as well as her family, and she needed to get them out of this situation, all of them, even the people of Fra. But everything seemed to be working against them, especially time.

"Any suggestions?"

Tuvok and Seven glanced quickly at each other and then Tuvok faced her again.

"We have hypothesized that the crashed ship in the possession of the Frain is linked to the fields presence and perhaps even why the field is now collapsing." he said.

"Are you saying we didn't cause its collapse?" Janeway asked crossing her arms in front of her.

"Perhaps, perhaps not. As of yet we are uncertain, but it is possible we had an effect on the ships systems when we passed through the field if it truly had been creating it. Or the collapse could have begun when the power on the Causality, as Sil called it, began to fail." Tuvok hypothesized further.

"Has its power systems failed completely?" Janeway asked starting towards the door. Tuvok an Seven followed her out into the corridor.  
"According to sensors main power has failed on the Causality. Its engine core however appears to still be producing a reaction, perhaps due to perpetual motion. However it is slowly losing its cohesion." Seven reported.

"Tuvok, prepare an away team. We're going to that ship. I'll contact the Frain and let them know our intentions." Janeway said as she entered the Turbo lift, "Bring Chris and Sil with you, at this point they know more about that ship than we do seeing they've been there before."  
"Aye captain." Tuvok said, entering the Turbo lift, followed by Seven.

"I shall accompany the away team as well and study the borg components on board."

Janeway nodded to Seven in agreement then gave her command to the turbo lift.

"Bridge."

* * *

Chris sat alone in the corner of Voyagers mess hall looking out over the hull of Voyager which seemed to luminescence as it sat quietly surrounded by the rippling water.

It was around lunch time and a lot of the crew had come to eat. The kitchen was closed due to the fact the ship's cook had apparently recently left Voyager. But someone had shown Chris how to use one of the replicators.

He sipped orange juice from his glass, and in his mind went over everything that had happened to him. For one, the technology on Voyager was well beyond anything they had in the time he was from, not to mention the fact it was well known in this time that aliens existed.

In fact there were a few in the room now, two blue people sat at the far end of the room. A man and woman, each had ruts in their face that looked like a vertical line splitting their face directly down the center. Chris realized he was staring and turned away to again look out the large windows that ran along the mess hall.

From this distance, the city-scape of the Frain capitol looked similar to an earth city except for the occasional shuttle flying between the buildings. Although they did remind him of helicopters, just without the blades.

A crew member walked by the window outside and the suddenness of this brought Chris out of his thoughts. He realized the crew must be making repairs, and being able to do it on a planet made it easier. Although he knew that the parts of the ship that were underwater would be difficult to repair. They must have just begun to work on the damage outside since the attack on Voyager had halted less than an hour ago. They didn't waste time, and they seemed to be a very efficient crew. They also seemed to know how to react in a crisis.

For example he had heard a few crew members talking about how the lowest deck on the ship, deck fifteen, had been flooded during impact. But all the crew in that area escaped before it had become completely filled with water. Life in space must have been hard on the crew if they had become so used to such things. Could he learn to cope with the amazing things he would see on the long journey back to earth. Who could know, but thoughts of seeing his home again, even if it was four hundred years later, still made him happy.

"Nice view, mind if I join you?" Sil's voice came from behind him.

Chris turned and smiled up at her, he then quickly stood and offered her a chair. "Please do."

Sil sat in the chair opposite him, and smiled brightly at him. Chris felt knot inside his stomach. He wasn't sure what to say. Thankfully she spoke first.

"I didn't have a chance to thank you for coming to speak with my people." She said beaming, but her smile quickly faded. "When we transported back, you were gone. I was worried that Tok's weapon may have still hurt you even though you had transported."

"When I transported back I went to a neadby console where I could watch the broadcast." Chris said. "Tuvok was handling the transporter controls and suggested I leave the area since Tok was about to be transported to the ship, so I came here to think."

"About what?" Sil asked.

Chris lifted his glass to take a sip and before doing so he said, "Everything."

He tasted the orange juice in his mouth. It was the same it had been four hundred years ago. So much was the same, but so much was different.

"Yes, this all must be hard for you. Not being from this time and finding out everyone you know is dead." Sil said, a frown again conquering her smile. She looked around the mess hall, and then back at him. "But it is good that you found your own kind."

Chris knew what she said was true but he couldn't help but feel out of place nonetheless. "Yes, I suppose your right, but I don't know what it is. It's like being in the center of a crowd that knows why they are there, with you standing in the middle wondering where everyone is going."

Sil smiled at him again. Her gaze was amazing, partly because her eyes were a different color each time she looked at him. She was so full of mystery to him, yet he trusted her more than anyone else he had met so far here.

Quietly, and slowly from the back of his mind, a shallow indistinguishable voice rang in his ear and he turned to look behind him but he saw no one there. He turned back to face Sil who was now just staring at him seeming lost in thought. He instinctively rubbed his temple where he knew the implant was.

"Is it bothering you again?" she asked him.

"No, its just hard to imagine its there, I can't feel it or anything." He said looking down at Sil's hand where he saw the marking he had seen before. He still hadn't asked her about it, so he decided now was as good a time as any. He reached his hand out and touched hers where the marking was, "What is this marking? I saw it before and I couldn't help feel that it was something familiar."

Sil looked down at her hand, "This, is the mark of our god's. It signifies that we are grateful for their absence on our world for four thousand years. Almost all Frain have similar markings on their bodies."

Chris leaned in to look at the marking, and Sil allowed him to pull her hand closer.

The black shape looked like an egg, but one part of the egg was broken and separated from the rest. At certain points around the egg, there were what looked like spiders legs arcing away from it. Perhaps that is why it looked familiar.

"Looks kind of like a spider." He said releasing her greyish white hand.

"A spider?" Sil said puzzled. "What is that?"

"It's an insect on earth." Chris said leaning back in his chair. He again realized that things that seemed normal to him would come as new information to others here. Especially Sil and the rest of her people, after all the Frain had been cut off from the rest of the universe for four thousand years. Who knew what things they had missed that existed right outside of their system. For all they knew there could have even originally been more planets in their planetary system beyond the field.

Sil looked at her hand and then back at Chris. Her eyes were now a light blue. "This is what our god's took form as when they existed in corporeal form. They were not very merciful god's. In fact, it is said we were created to be their slaves. Yet, they did bring life to our species so that is why we adorn our bodies with their image."

The door to the mess hall opened as it had done many times during Chris and Sil's conversation. After all it was lunch time and the crew was in and out of the room at an almost constant flow. This time it was Tuvok whom had entered. Once inside he made a quick glance around the room and when his focus fell on Chris and Sil he made his way towards them.

"Mr. Moss, Sil, Your presence is required." he said when he came up to their table. Chris noticed Tuvok still had the same straight non-emotional face he had when Chris had seen him last in the transporter room. Tom had mentioned to him that Tuvok's race controlled their emotions. Chris couldn't seem to wrap his mind around the possibility of such a thing.

"Of course." Sil said standing up. Chris did the same, and they both followed Tuvok out of the mess hall.

As they walked down the corridor, about halfway to the turbo-lift Sil turned to Chris and asked, "With all the thinking you've been doing... Have you ever considered staying here on Fra?"

Chris stopped walking. Tuvok noticed him stop and stopped as well and turned around to face them both.

Chris actually hadn't thought about that as an option. After all, he was human. Wouldn't it make more sense to try and get to his planet where humans lived? But then there was the long journey Voyager and her crew had ahead of them, could he learn to handle the difficulties they came across?

"There will be time to discuss this matter later, but right now, I'm afraid we have little time." Tuvok said abruptly cutting into Chris's train of thought.

"Why what's happening?" Sil asked.

"The Field around your planetary system is collapsing and we fear it may crush everything inside it including this planet."

Sil almost appeared to collapse herself when she heard this. "How can that be, the Field has been stable for four thousand years." She said as they started to walk again, this time with a bit more haste.

"We believe that the field was being generated by the crashed vessel Tok discovered." Tuvok said. "And since the power has failed on that vessel, whatever was producing the field is also losing power. I have been ordered to go to the Causality and we would like you to join the team that will be going there because you have been there before."

"Ok." Sil said nodding to Chris. "We will accompany you."


	26. Book 1 : Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**  
_Away Team_

Upon reaching the transporter room Chris and Sil were given Combadges of their own. Tuvok instructed them how to use them so they could stay in touch for the duration of the expedition. They were also given light beacons that fit on their wrist. Chris was testing his light beacon when Tom entered the transporter room.

"Hey Chris, I have a question for you. We don't usually have the chance to ask this to anyone from your time. But what about our time do you find the most fascinating?" Tom asked as he put on his own light beacon as it seemed Tom would likely be accompanying them.

Chris looked around the room and thought about what to say. He found so many things fascinating about the future, but he didn't know which thing he found the most fascinating. As he looked around the room he saw Tuvok, Seven, Sil, and the woman who had been there when Tobias had formed. He still didn't know her name yet. As he had noticed before, she was pregnant and had some ridges on her forehead which indicated she wasn't human. Truthfully everything in that room fascinated him, to choose just one would be difficult.

"I suppose, just about everything. But meeting other races is very interesting." He replied looking up and over to Sil, "Very interesting."

Tom noticed his gaze had fallen on Sil and chuckled, "You remind me of Harry. Be careful buddy, you never know what you may get into out here."

"Thanks, I'll try to remember that." Chris said smiling, never taking his gaze off of Sil who was now talking to Tuvok.

Tom walked away and kissed the pregnant woman on the cheek. This confirmed to Chris that she was clearly Tom's wife. Chris turned to look at Sil once more.

After a moment Sil turned and saw that he was looking at her. He looked away quickly and focused on his arm beacon. After a moment he heard her voice beside him.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Looking up he smiled and said, "As ready as I'll ever be. I just hope we can find something to keep your world from harm and perhaps something to send me home."

She frowned, "So, you still want to go home? The future isn't that bad is it?"

She was right, he was beginning to grow accustomed to this new reality he was in. And then there was her. Without even thinking about it he knew she had become an important part of his life.

"I'm starting to find reasons-," he started to say as he slowly stood upright keeping his gaze fixed on her the whole time,"-to want to stay."

Janeway entered the transporter room with Chakotay beside her. She looked around the room and surveyed everyone, like she must have done hundred's of times before leaving the ship. Chris knew she was most likely hoping to herself that everyone would be alright on what Tuvok had called an 'away mission'.

"We're ready captain." Tuvok said stepping forward.

"Good luck." she said and nodded to them all.

Tuvok, Tom, Seven, Sil and himself stepped into place on the transporter padd and then faced Chakotay, The Captain, and Tom's wife.

"Energize." Janeway said and Tom's wife activated the transporter.

* * *

As quickly as it took for Chris to blink he was again standing in the cargo bay of the Causality. It was the very spot he had first awoke in this time.

Everyone else had activated their light beacons and had started to scan them around the room, so he did the same.

He immediately walked over to the stasis tube he had emerged from and looked inside. It was empty of course.

Behind him he heard Tuvok saying something to Seven. Chris turned, saw that Tom was scanning the room with a device called a tricorder, and Sil was looking at the tube beside the one he had come out of. He focused his attention on it as well. The controls in front of the two tubes were dark and no longer functional.

"I'm detecting bio-material inside the other stasis tube." Tom said stepping closer as his tricorder beeped.

"Could someone else be inside?" Sil said stepping forward. Chris's gut wrenched at that thought.

Tom scanned again with his tricorder, "I'm not detecting any life signs and there is no power in these systems, I don't think there is anything alive inside."

"Should we open it?" Chris said looking over at Tuvok who was walking towards them.

"Once we restore power we will make a more thorough examination, but for now we should proceed to the bridge."

Seven had already left the cargo bay and her light beacon could be seen down the corridor outside the cargo bay. The rest of the away team followed her out and down the passageway.

"The bridge is right there. The next door on the right." Sil said as they approached Seven who had stopped halfway down the corridor to wait for them. Tuvok opened a panel next to the door which Chris noticed did not open when he walked near it as it had for he and Sil last time they had been here.

"The power has failed completely. I will try to find the manual override for the door." Tuvok said looking into the access hatch.

Chris turned and looked back down the corridor where more doors lined the walls. He wondered what was behind them.

Sil turned to him and smiled, "We will look later, don't worry."

Seven had joined Tuvok near the access hatch and was giving him the assistance of her light beacon. Tom was still scanning the area with his tricorder. Chris felt slightly useless, as all he and Sil could do was wait and see if any of their questions were answered.

"Tom, find anything interesting?" he asked to break the awkward silence that had formed after a few more moments. Tom looked up from his readings and smiled and then held out his tricorder.

"Would you like to try it?"

Chris smiled and took the device and held it like Tom had been. The tricorders face was covered with lights and readouts, he couldn't make much sense out of any of it. "It doesn't make much sense to me, your technology is..." Chris began to say, but as he looked over one of the readouts he couldn't help but feel a sudden recognition of what was being displayed.

"What is it?" Tom said stepping closer and stood beside him looking at the tricorder.

Chris peered at the readout a moment more and the responded in a soft voice.

"This readout... is that the information you took on the bio-matter in the stasis tube?"

"Yes, I was looking for other traces of the same matter in the rest of the ship but I haven't found any." Tom looked up at him, "Why do you ask?"

"I recognize this, I'm not sure how but I... I know that I know what it is." Chris said looking up from the tricorder at Sil who was leaning against the wall across from the door Tuvok and Seven were trying to open. "I just don't know how to remember what it is. It's like the information is there I just can't get at it."

"More of Tobias's memories must be surfacing. It is best if you let them surface on their own and not try to force them. "Tuvok said as he straitened and turned to Chris. "We have bypassed the emergency systems on this door, we should be able to manually open it now."

Tom took two objects from the bag he had been carrying and placed one on each of the two doors where they adhered in place. Seven and Tuvok pulled them apart separating the doors.

Chris handed the tricorder back to Tom so he could enter the bridge first and begin scanning the room.

Everyone else followed him in and spread out to search the room as well. Chris made a mental note that this bridge was much smaller than the one on the Voyager.

"Only one seat? Wonder where the conn is." Tom said scanning the seat.

Tuvok had pulled out his own tricorder and was scanning the display screen in front of the single seat. "It appears the computer core is behind this view screen, I will attempt to access it" he said and began to feel around the edges of the screen.

Seven had moved to the rear of the room and was looking at the flat unimpressive wall that was there. Sil moved to stand beside her.

"This bridge does not seem very efficient." Seven said turning to the others. "Could this be an emergency command center rather than the main bridge?"

"This is the room the computer told me was the bridge, although I suppose it could have been malfunctioning after four thousand years." Sil said.

Perhaps we should find the engine room." Suggested Seven, "I am detecting an active power reading directly at the rear section of this deck."

Before they had left on the mission, they had looked over a readout of the scans Voyager had made of the Causality. The ship had four decks, and was almost a fifth the size of Voyager, but there was still a lot of ship to explore. Before they had arrived in the transporter room Tuvok had said they would have chosen to use the transporters to go directly to the engine room, but there was a strange energy flux coming from the engines that would have interfered with transport.

"Seven, you and Chris try and find a route to the engine room. The rest of us will continue our analysis of the bridge." Tuvok ordered.

Seven nodded. She took the bag Tom was carrying and handed it to Chris. He put it over his shoulder and began to follow Seven out the door but before he left he turned and smiled to Sil. She smiled back and then nodded to him.


	27. Book 1 : Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**  
_Wind_

It had been almost a half hour since the away team had boarded the Causality, and Harry had been keeping a steady lock on them in case of an emergency. The bridge was nearly deserted. Only he, Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay where there as the rest of the crew was concentrating on repairs. There was a beep in front of him. Harry looked down at his console, they were receiving a communication.

"Captain, we're being hailed, the signal is originating from one of the Frain space stations." He said tapping a few controls to prepare to open the channel. "It's the station closest to the approaching field wall."

"How close is the field from their current position?" she asked standing and turning to him. Harry looked down at the readout beside his blinking communication display. His scans of the field had brought back some interesting information, mostly the fact that it was comprised more of liquid tachyon particles rather than energy particles. "It will intersect with the station in approximately four hours."

Harry noticed the captain began to pace, something she didn't normally do. Of course he knew normally an entire planetary system wasn't about to be crushed with them along with it.

"Open the channel." she said and faced the view screen.

Harry activated the link and after a few seconds a Frain males's face appeared on the screen.

"This is Captain Janeway, Are you in need of assistance?" she asked, "We were informed by your government your station was to be evacuated within the hour."

"I am Station Manager Mau, I'm afraid I'm not sure what is happening captain, we are experiencing a strange phenomenon. And it is worsening as the field wall approaches." he said.

"What sort of phenomenon?" Commander Chakotay asked from tactical where he had taken Tuvok's place while he was on the away mission.

"We are experiencing moments at different rates." he said with a tone of fear.

"What do you mean at a different rates?" Janeway asked looking up to Harry. He knew she was wordlessly asking him to scan the station and its surrounding space.

Harry looked down at his console and directed the sensor's in the direction of the station. He knew immediately what was happening when he saw it.

"Captain I am detecting a tachyon evergy wave front approaching the planet well ahead of the field wall. I believe the collapse of the wall has created a temporal imbalance in the form of a shockwave. It has already engulfed the station."

"Station Manager, what is your total time to full evacuation?" Janeway said stepping forward.

Mau looked to his right off screen and then back at the captain.

"The vessel's that were scheduled to arrive and transport us to the home world have also been intercepted by this phenomenon. They appear to be dead in space."

A moment after he completed what he was saying, he then began to move extremely fast and his words seemed a high pitched squeal. Then Mau vanished from the screen and flashes of extremely fast movement could be seen on the stations main deck.

"What just happened?" Chakotay asked.

The captain began to walk up to where Harry was and he immediately moved to his left to let her stand beside him. She quickly looked over the sensor scans Harry had just made.

"It appears that time has been fractured throughout the shockwave, the station just passed into a different time sheer where time seems to be moving at three times the normal rate. As for the ships sent to retrieve them, according to this, time is moving at a mere fraction of the rate it normally does. Who knows what will happen when it hits the planet." She said tapping a few controls. "Harry, how long until these fractures reach Fra?"

All three of them looked up when on the view screen the main deck of the station disappeared suddenly and was replaced by the ocean view outside Voyager.

"We've lost the connection." Harry said and then began his calculations, after a quick moment he had the answer. "The fracture shockwave will intersect the planet in five hours forty two minutes at its present velocity."

Janeway looked up from the console and quickly crossed the top level of the bridge to Chakotay. "Commander, join the away team and bring B'Elanna with you. Repairing Voyager has just become second priority. Try and find a way to stabilize that field and dissipate that shockwave. We no longer have time to be cautious."

"Aye Captain." Chakotay said stepping out of the tactical station and into the turbo-lift.

Only Janeway and Harry himself were left on the bridge now. Harry couldn't remember the last time the bridges was so empty.

"Harry, Open a channel to the other stations in orbit, we need to warn them to evacuate ahead of schedule."

"Yes Ma'am." he said and then inwardly winced. He had always had trouble remembering not to call her that rather than captain.

* * *

Commander Chakotay materialized in the cargo hold of the Causality with B'Elanna Torres standing beside him. They both pulled out they're tricorders and began to scan for the away team. The cargo bay itself looked much like those on Voyager, except the two large tubes at the back which Chakotay assumed was where Chris had emerged.

They exited the cargo bay following the indicator that was Tuvok's life sign. Paris's and Sil's life signs were close by in the same area.

"I can't locate Seven or Chris. However there is significant interference from the engine core, some sort of dampening effect." B'Elanna said as they walked down the corridor.

Tuvok looked up at Chakotay from his work inside an access hatch under a screen on the wall when he and Torres entered. Sil was beside Tuvok holding a hyper spanner and Tom was behind the chair in the center of the room looking into another access hatch of some kind.

"Turns out we have less time than we first anticipated." Chakotay requested. "Report."

Tuvok did something in the hatch he was working in and the screen on the wall slid up into the ceiling. Behind it was a large bank of computer chips and tubing. Some of it looked like the same technology in Voyager, but significantly more advanced.

"I have just made access to the ships main computer core. However main power is still offline. Seven of Nine and Mr. Moss have gone to locate engineering and attempt to reboot the system and repair any damage." Tuvok reported.

"What a beauty." Torres said stepping over to look at the computer core. "This technology is well beyond our own, It looks like they've replaced bio-neural gelpaks with some sort of bio-neural chip and tubing combination."

"Try and see if you can download they're database." Chakotay said.

"Commander I must point out that any information and logs in this computers database may contain information from the future. To maintain the Temporal Prime Directive we should only attempt to retrieve files that will help us repair this ships engine core to prevent the impending disaster." Tuvok said.

He was right of course. Chakotay knew the rules about the Temporal Prime Directive. No starfleet crewman was to attempt to locate information about the future. He turned to B'Elanna and frowned.

"Only retrieve the information you need, leave the rest untouched."

"Yes sir." She said and began to work. Sil had come to stand beside him. He felt her gaze fall on him.

"What if something in the database explains why Chris is here?" Sil asked, "If he was sent here to do something, shouldn't we try and find out what, after all they must have had a good reason to take him and bring him to this time."

She had made another good point directly opposing Tuvok's observation, however he knew their priorities. Saving the planet and all their lives came first, then came solving the rest of the mystery.

"We will discuss this further after the current dilemma has been solved, otherwise in a few hours it won't matter much what we do if the planet is crushed." he said stepping back around the chair. He put his hands on the headrest. "I am going to see if I can help Seven with the engine core."

The others nodded to him and he exited the room. He chose a direction that seemed to lead him towards the dampening effect registering on the tricorder. He knew the engine core would be at its center.

After a few moments of walking in the chosen direction, he began to hear a thrumming sound which usually accompanied an engine core. What didn't usually accompany it however was phaser fire.

Chakotay broke into a sprint and entered the open door at the end of the corridor pulling his own phaser and making it ready.

He took quick note of his surroundings. Seven was laying on the floor near a control panel. Her eye's were closed. Chris was on an upper platform to Chakotay's right spraying the rear of the engine room with phaser fire using what he assumed was Seven's phaser.

He quickly knelt beside Seven and checked her pulse, he was relieved to find she was only unconscious. He looked in the direction of Chris's phaser fire but couldn't see what he was shooting at.

"Chris, what's going on?" he yelled over the thrum of the engine which spun awkwardly in the center of the room. He could now see that it was comprised of two circular, ribbon shaped plates rotating around each other at an incredible speed. One was spinning vertically and the other horizontally. In their center was a glowing light which he assumed was some sort of energy cascade. It was a good bet that this engine core was generating the temporal field around the solar system. But they had to be sure, and he knew with Chris firing a phaser near such a device, something could go terribly wrong.

Chris had taken little notice to Chakotay's call, so Chakotay quickly climbed a ladder up to the same level as him. It was then that the frantically firing teen seemed to then take notice of Chakotay's presence and stopped firing, but then Chris proceeded to turn and aimed his phaser at him. His face had all the signs of panic and fear, something was clearly driving him to act this way.

"Put down the phaser and tell me what's wrong."

Chris squinted and then his eyes became wide with horror, "It's behind you!"

Chakotay ducked just as Chris fired, the beam narrowly missing his shoulder. Unfortunately Chakotay's momentum caused him to fall onto the hard metal gravity plating with a hard thud, and pain shot through his knee. Ignoring the pain the best he could, Chakotay quickly looked over his shoulder at what Chris had fired at. A strange shape was on the wall on the opposite end of the engine room, but he couldn't make out what it was. It seemed that Chris had missed his target because he had altered his shot so not to hit Chakotay. He was relieved that Chris hadn't been aiming at him after all, as for a few moments he had thought the young man had gone mad.

The shape on the far wall moved and then it leapt forward into the air at him. Chakotay quickly turned onto his back and aimed his own phaser at the shape charging through the air and fired.


	28. Book 1 : Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**  
_From Within_

Tuvok had heard the exchange of fire from even the long distance they were away, his Vulcan hearing being so much more sensitive than the others on the away team. He stood quickly and ordered everyone but B'Elanna to follow him. After a quick run, they reached and entered the engine room in a matter of moments just as Chakotay was firing his phaser over their heads at something above them.

Tuvok heard Sil scream and turned to see what had happened. At Sil's feet was a dead creature. It appeared to be a large arachnid approximately a meter in length.

Lieutenant Paris had already taken out his tricorder and was scanning Seven who lay unconscious nearby. Tuvok pulled out his own and began to scan the creature.

"It's dead. Even stun was too powerful for the creature to withstand, its exoskeleton has been shattered by the beams impact." he said making his evaluation. Tuvok looked up to see Chakotay leaning on a railing favoring one leg, "Are you alright, Commander?"

"I'll be fine," Chakotay said turning to look behind himself, "But something is wrong with Chris. He's lost consciousness."

"Its probably the same reason Seven is unconscious, I'm detecting a foreign chemical in her blood stream." Tom said standing to his feet, "We need to get them to sickbay immediately."

Tom grabbed Seven under her arms and began to drag her out of the room. They needed to get them far enough away from the engine and out of the interference it was creating. Tuvok climbed up to where Chakotay was and lifted Chris by himself and gently passed him down to the lower level where Sil steadied Chris against herself until Tuvok climbed down to carry him out of the room.

* * *

Chakotay slowly lowered himself down the ladder with Sil's help.

"Do you think they will be alright?" Sil asked as they began to walk towards the engine room door with her supporting his weight. Chakotay looked down at the creature that had attacked them when they reached the doorway, and then turned to face Sil.

"I'm sure it was just something that induces unconsciousness like the spiders on our planet use to incapacitate their prey." he said.

"It's strange, Chris explained to me about spiders before we came here, but this creature bears a striking resemblance to the form that our gods took four thousand years ago." Sil said bending low to look at the dead spider.

Behind them the energy cascade in the center of the engine flashed attracting Chakotay and Sil's attention. The flash had been followed by a small metallic clang like something had just landed on the upper platform. Chakotay pulled out his phaser once more.

"What is it?" Sil asked stepping beside him.

On the edge of the upper platform a shadow moved. Chakotay raised his light beacon to illuminate it. There they both saw another large arachnid facing them. It made an eerie noise equivalent to that of a high pitched squeal and another flash was proceeded by another clang on the upper level. Chakotay quickly fired and hit the arachnid on the upper level just as a second came into view behind it.

Chakotay quickly kicked the dead arachnid's body at his feet out the doorway into the corridor behind them.

"We have to close this door and seal it!" Chakotay yelled realizing what was happening. The cascade itself was somehow spawning these spiders, and more had just started to come through.

Behind them B'Elanna came into view, she had her phaser ready.

"Tuvok told me to come see what was taking you so long. I thought I heard phaser fire." she said and then immediately stopped moving and stared wide eyed at the scene before her.

The Cascade was flashing almost every two seconds now and the room was filling with the crawling vermin. Chakotay opened fire again sweeping the floor in front of them, his phaser beam colliding with a dozen or so spiders knocking them back dead. B'Elanna began to fire also as he backed slowly towards her and the door.

Sil had already moved out of the engine room and was attempting to close the heavy doors that were probably strong enough to withstand a small explosion, but she wasn't having any luck.

B'Elanna started to fall back when Chakotay reached where she was standing providing cover fire.

At that point the entire room seemed to be crawling with the creatures, and the flashes of light kept coming.

"Help her close these doors!" he yelled, "I'll try and keep them back!"

B'Elanna turned and pulled a panel off the wall, Sil noticed what she had done and did the same on her side. B'Elanna quickly assessed the controls and pointed Sil to a large two pronged lever. Both Sil and B'Elanna pulled the emergency close levers at the same time. And the two parts of the door slid together with a slightly louder than normal hiss.

Chakotay was sweating much more than he would have liked. He had no memory of being faced with such an overwhelming series of events and it had given him a sudden panic. From behind the door, he could still hear the flashes, accompanied by banging, signalling that the arachnids were trying to break through the door.

"Lets hope that door holds and that room is self contained. Where did all of those come from?" B'Elanna asked as she moved to look at the dead arachnid Chakotay had kicked out of the room.

"I don't know, but lets get that specimen back to Voyager. This whole situation just got a lot worse... again."


	29. Book 1 : Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**  
_Memories_

"Spiders?" Janeway said utterly shocked.

She had come to sickbay after the away team had requested immediate transport there. In the briefing prior to the away mission to the Causality they had discussed the possibility of hostile's on the ship, and Tuvok had given them a one and a four billion chance there could be. So much for statistics she thought.

"They seemed to be coming out of the engine core itself." Chakotay said sitting on the bio bed closest to the door as Tom patched up his leg. The Doctor was busy tending to Seven of Nine and Chris who were both laying unconscious on Bio Beds nearby.

Janeway turned and looked at the large sample tray in the center of the room which now contained a dead arachnid, the same kind Chakotay had just described. At first glance it reminded her of a Talarian hook spider, but larger and of a solid grey color.

B'Elanna had placed a level ten force field around it just to be safe and then had left for engineering to compile the data she had downloaded from the computer core on the Causality. Tuvok had gone to take his post on the bridge where he was making statistical analysis of the situation.

"Why would a temporal engine create these creatures?" Sil asked standing over near where Chris lay.

"I don't know, but I'll have Harry look at Seven's tricorder. Maybe she took some readings before she was attacked." Janeway said.

The Doctor walked up to them and smiled, "You can ask Seven yourself captain. She will be regaining consciousness soon. There wad a neutralizing agent in her bloodstream which induced an unconscious state. However, I found no trace of it in Chris's bloodstream."

Janeway looked over at the unconscious Christopher. Sil was holding his hand to comfort him even though he was unconscious.

"Then what caused him to lose consciousness?" Chakotay asked standing to his feet, his leg fully healed.

"Look at this,"The Doctor said leading them to the console near the critical care bio bed. He pointed to a frequency wave on the screen. "This is his neural activity. It is four times the normal amount. Something is activating dormant storage centers in his brain and all the information is coming out all at once. He lost consciousness because his brain couldn't handle all the information."

"What kind of information?"Janeway asked.

"That is the interesting part, When I just scanned his brain to locate what was causing the surge of information, I found something I didn't expect." The Doctor brought up another screen, this one showed a diagram of a brain. "He has somehow gained forty years of memories. Memories that were not there when I scanned him when he first arrived."

Janeway turned away from the screen and walked over towards where Sil was standing. She turned and made eye contact with the Doctor.

"Tobias." she said making the profound statement out loud, even if only to herself. Everyone else looked at each other.

"Who?" The Doctor asked.

"The telepath from the transporter room." she said, "He must have used his last moments to transfer the memories."

"I completed the autopsy you asked me to run, and it appears you were correct. He was a Betazoid. "The Doctor said. "But no where in my medical files do I have a record of a Betazoid that could transfer its memories in such a way. However, he did have a similar implant to the one Mr. Moss has. Perhaps that device somehow facilitated in the transfer."

Tom walked over and leaned on the nearby bio bed and shook his head. "Didn't Chris say something about dreaming about Tobias's family before the accident in the transporter room happened?"

Janeway thought a moment. That was true, so perhaps Tobias had given him a few memories prior to the accident that stranded the Causality here. But it was all speculation and they would have to wait until Chris woke to find out any answers. The question was, would he wake up?

"Doctor, can you revive him?" she asked turning to the Hologram who was now reviewing the readout of Chris's brain patterns.

"I believe so, but I'm not sure if he will make much sense. His memories are sporadic and he may not even know what he is saying." The Doctor said stepping away from the console.

Janeway thought for a moment and weighed the options. "Do It," she said, "We need to know what Tobias shared with him."

Sil grabbed her arm from behind and Janeway turned to face her. She saw that Sil had a worried look on her face. It was understandable. Janeway had noticed the bond that Chris and Sil had been forming. She knew that this young Frain woman now cared about his well being.

"Don't worry, we have the best Doctor in the Quadrant. If anyone can help him it is our Doctor." Janeway said to reassure her. Sil looked over at the Doctor who was getting a hypospray from the tray near the emergency bio bed, then she nodded and stepped back to watch.

The Doctor pressed the hypospray on Chris's neck.

The next thing that occurred happened so suddenly that everyone in the room was startled.

Chris sat up almost as soon as the Doctor had finished pulling his hand back. Then he screamed a word Janeway had never heard before.

"Gullina!" His eyes were wide and fear was covering his face. He quickly looked at everyone around him and jumped off the bio bed. The Doctor moved to stop him, and Chris struggled with him and then began to scream again.

"I have to find her! Where is she?" he yelled as Tom joined the Doctor and helped push Chris back on to the bio bed. Chris continued to scream and all of what he was saying seemed to be random phrases from a whole lifetime.

"Why are they doing this!"

"Full reverse engines!"

"They are attacking! Get to your station!"

"We've lost port shielding!"

"Pull us away from the anomaly!"

"You knew this would happen!"

"Sedate him, quickly!" Chris screamed but this time his eyes closed. During all the commotion Tom had been joined by Chakotay and they were holding Chris down as the Doctor gave him a sedative to calm him. Chris stopped screaming but continued to mutter random phrases. Phrases that seemed to be from calm moments in origin.

"I love you too, I'll see you soon."

"Helm, what's our position?"

"Four Thousand Years, How can that be?"

"Yes Sir, I understand our orders."

"Put him in the backup stasis unit."

"Activate the temporal core."

"Engineering, come in, what's wrong?"

"Activate core overload."

"I'm sorry my love."

Then he was silent and just lay there as he stared up at the ceiling. Everyone watched as Sil slowly moved closer to him and reached for his hand once more. The moment she touched his hand he turned his head and looked at her, he seemed fully aware of her presence.

"...Sil?"

Janeway moved over to the bed and looked at Chris, his eyes were fixed on Sil. Tom and Chakotay had let go of their hold on him and where now standing at the end of the bio bed.

"Do you know where you are?" The Doctor asked him.

Without looking away from Sil he replied, "On Voyager, in the Frain system."

"Do you remember what happened?" Chakotay asked.

Chris took his gaze off of Sil and looked straight up again, then closed his eyes.

"Last thing I remember, was Seven being attacked by a Gullina Drone, then Sil was touching my hand." He said.

"You don't remember shooting up the engine room or trying to get off the bio-bed and screaming a lot of nonsense?" Tom asked but Janeway held up her hand to silence him. It was interesting he didn't remember any of it. But he had said something important.

"Tell me, what are these Gullina you speak of? Are they the spiders that attacked the away team?" she asked hoping that his current train of thought would lead to some answers.

Chris again sat up, this time slowly. He looked Janeway in the eye. She met his gaze. He seemed almost lost in his own thoughts.

"The Gullina are..." he began to say but then he closed his eyes and seemed to be in pain.

The Doctor was there to scan him almost as if he were made of wind, which wasn't that far from the truth.

Sil helped Chris lay back down in an attempt to comfort his head pains. Out of the corner of her eye Janeway saw Seven stirring. Apparently also noticing this, Chakotay walked over to her and started to talk with her. Janeway knew he would ask her about her scans., so she decided to continue to see to Chris and his new found knowledge.

"His neural levels are dropping," The Doctor said as he did his duty, "The memories that were surfacing appear to be migrating into the instinct sector of his brain."

"What does that mean Doctor?" she asked the hologram.

The Doctor led the way back to the center console where Chris's brain patterns were zig-zagging across the screen. He pointed to an elevated section of the wave.

"It would indicate that anything that Tobias had known and committed to instinct would now be part of what Chris sees and knows to be instinct."  
Paris walked over and looked over the readout. He seemed to study it for a quick second, and then looked up.

"Does that mean he knows everything Tobias did?"

The doctor hesitated as he compiled the information in his program stores.

"No, they wouldn't be entirely memories anymore but instead more subtle nuances of knowledge. For example Mr. Paris, if you were to fly the Delta Flyer, you would use more of your instinctual knowledge as you have done it so many times. You no longer need to think much about how to do it, you just do it."

Janeway saw what this meant, there was a good chance they wouldn't be getting many answers from Chris about anything specific unless he was in a situation that would make the memories surface on their own.

The door to sickbay opened and B'Elanna entered holding a padd. She looked excited about something. Janeway turned to her fully and looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"What have you found Lieutenant?" she asked as the chief engineer approached her.

"Its really interesting captain. They have an encryption system that makes ours look primitive, although it seems it is malfunctioning from being active so many years. Normally it appears it would only allow access to any information that has chronologically already happened. It looks like they found a way to prevent information from falling into the hands of any time that shouldn't have it. When it works..."

"Did you find anything else?" Janeway asked.

"Unfortunately, No. It looks like most of the memory core files has been cut off by degraded circuits. But I'm sure I can repair the relays."

"Until we secure that ship of those spider's no one is going back there."Janeway said.

B'Elanna nodded and again left to continue her work.

Janeway quickly looked at the chronometer on the computer. They had little time left.

Seven was now standing and conversing with the Doctor about something and Chakotay seemed very engrossed in what they were talking about. Chakotay saw her looking over at him and waved her over.

"Captain, your going to find this quite interesting." Chakotay said as she approached, "It seems our mystery has just taken another turn."

Janeway couldn't help but cringe. What now?

The Doctor and Seven both turned to her and at the same time, said "They have the same DNA base pairs."

Janeway didn't quite understand.

"Who does?" she asked seeking clarification.

The Doctor walked over to the dead arachnid and activated a readout on the side of the containment unit.

"I haven't had the chance to check the DNA of this creature as I was attending to the needs of my patients. But according to Seven, she was able to scan this creature just before it attacked her." The Doctor said and began to run the DNA scan.

"Ah, just as she said. They are almost identical." he said after a moment.

"Doctor, please, just tell me what you are saying." Janeway said getting a little annoyed with his ability to delay giving information.

"This Arachnid and our friend Sil here, have in most part the same DNA."

"Captain, the Frain and these arachnids are part of the same evolutionary chain, albeit distantly. It's a certainty." Seven said.

Janeway leaned on the console in front of her and contemplated the facts she was being given. She turned her head and looked over toward Sil and then looked down at the massive dead spider.

"How can that be?" Janeway said to herself.

The Doctor, taking her statement as a real question began to work with another scan.

"It almost appears that the Frain DNA at one time, long ago, before generations of breeding, was replicated from the Arachnids own DNA." he said looking over the data. "I would surmise these Arachnids attempted to create a humanoid form of their race using their own DNA as the template."

Sil must have been listening into the conversation, because she gasped suddenly from the other end of the room. Janeway look up and saw Sil was clutching the edge of the bed looking at them.

"So, these Spiders are our creators, just as we thought." She said slightly stuttering. Sil then held up her hand and looked at something that was tattooed there.

"Sil, what can you tell us about these creatures?" Janeway asked.

Sil looked up at her and then squinted as if forcing the thoughts to come to her. "Every Frain child has been told of our gods. The ones who made us and placed us here on this planet. We were all told of the purpose for our existence. We were their slaves, their beasts of burden. Our people were even eaten as food by these gods, but one day they just disappeared. That was four thousand years ago, when the..."

"When the field appeared. Janeway continued as Sil trailed off, hypothesizing the rest. "they must have been blocked from entering this part of space from wherever they reside."

Sil nodded in agreement and then her eyes widened.

Janeway also knew what this meant and why Sil seemed suddenly frightened. The gods had found a way to return because the field was collapsing.

And the gods were angry.

Janeway turned suddenly to Chakotay. "Commander, return to the Causality and make sure that door you sealed is going to hold. We can't allow the Gullina to escape. I have a feeling if they do we're all going to be in trouble."

Chakotay nodded, and he then nodded to Tom and Seven, who would be accompanying him back to the derelict.

"And commander, be careful." she said to him before he could leave.

"Always." he said smiling, and then walked out.


	30. Book 1 : Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**  
_Wave Front_

Harry looked impatiently at his console, it showed the leading edge of the shockwave front approaching, and there was only an hour and a half left until it intersected them. They had analyzed the data, and come to the conclusion that it would have little effect on the planet itself, but it would indeed cause time to flow differently all over Fra.

Someone could be standing next to a friend, and then all of a sudden, time could speed up or slow down and that friend could have moved out of sight in an instant. It would cause havoc all over, for about an hour, but little damage would really be done. All frain had been warned to remain indoors and to not do anything hazardous while the wave intersected them.

As for the approaching field wall following behind the shockwave it had created, there was a different story. In six minutes time it would intersect with the Frain space station that had sent out the distress call four hours ago. They would then know the destruction it would cause, if any.

Tuvok was at Tactical analyzing the data he had returned with from the Causality hoping to find a solution to the problem that was quickly approaching.

Icheb entered the bridge from the turbo-lift. He looked over at Harry and started to cross to him.

"How long until the field wall intersects with the station?" he asked as he approached.

"Five minutes, twenty eight seconds." Harry said reading the information on the screen before him.

Icheb nodded and then moved to Seven's normal station and began to work on something.

Harry looked down at his screens again. Four minutes and forty seconds.

The turbo-lift opened once more this time producing Captain Janeway. Harry noticed she seemed lost in thought. Tuvok looked up and nodded to her as she walked in front of his station down the steps to the lower level. She quickly moved to sit in the center chair where she accessed her personal computer which folded up from the chairs arm.

"Captain, the Frain have allowed us the use of one of their satellites to view the collision." Harry said preparing to put the video feed on the main viewer. The Frain themselves had become very open in the sharing of information which made them now seem almost completely opposite of the race that had been attacking them. It truly must have been all of Tok's doing, Harry thought. He was glad Tok was now in their brig where he could do little harm.

"Put it on screen." Janeway said without looking up from her own computer. Harry complied and the screen at the front of the bridge changed to show the station in question and behind it, covering all the rest of the space shown where stars should have been, was the field.

It looked almost alive as it flashed and swirled over itself constantly moving. It almost appeared like someone had poured a liquid onto the blackness of space and it was flowing over itself as it mixed, blotting out the space beyond. There were red and yellow hues but the field was mostly an orange color, with an occasional flash of blue energy that looked a little like lightning.

Harry noticed the station seemed dead. After a few hours of dealing with the temporal fractures caused by the shockwave, the crew of the station had finally been rescued.

"Collision in thirty seconds." Icheb said from the center of the upper level. Even Tuvok was watching the center screen now, amazed at the sheer size of the approaching force. No, Harry reminded himself, Tuvok couldn't show amazement, he was a vulcan.

Janeway suddenly stood and pointed at the screen.

"Harry, are those stars I'm seeing? She asked peering at the screen before her intently.

Harry thought he saw them too but he looked down to confirm it with the sensors. And there it was, as big as life, the entire universe. It seemed that they could now scan beyond the field, although he wasn't entirely sure how. Perhaps the field was thinning as it lost cohesion.

"Captain, sensors are now able to scan the space outside of the..." Harry began to say, but on the view screen the station was being stuck by the terrible force.

It was like a hundred foot wave colliding with a dingy. All that was left of the station after a mere few seconds were tiny minute debris that fell into the field and were washed away themself.

And then it was gone. The field simply faded away.

"What happened?" Janeway asked turning to face him. Harry quickly looked over the sensor logs. There had been no signs of the field slowing or losing power, or anything of that sort. It had just suddenly vanished leaving the stars and a vast distant nebulae to be seen from the satellites video feed.

"It just disappeared captain, I'm not sure how."

Icheb walked over to Harry's station and stood beside him looking over the readouts.

"I believe I may have the answer captain." Icheb said looking up.

"I'm all ears."

"I was running scans of the Causality to further attempt to discover the Borg components origins. The sensors have detected that the engine core on the Causality has just ceased producing the energy cascade. It appears to have been stopped manually."

"Manually," Janeway said out loud, "But that means someone is on board the Causality. Unless those spiders somehow manipulated the controls themselves."

Tuvok looked up and exited his console area.

"Captain, I will inform the away team of this and join them." He said and waited for her nod, then entered the lift.

Harry looked down at his readouts. There was something strange, something that shouldn't have still been there. A warp trail lingered in space, and abruptly ended near the solar systems edge. He ran a quick scan and verified the information.

"No time has passed." He said abruptly and then quickly realized he had said it out loud when he hadn't meant to.

Janeway looked up at him and then walked over towards him, followed by Icheb.

Harry looked over his readouts again to make sure he was about to say what he wanted to. He then looked up as she moved beside him.

"Captain, Our original warp trail from when we arrived is still present and it hasn't dissipated or decayed at all. It's as if no time has passed."

Icheb was also looking over the readouts, and then entered in a command on the console. The screen changed to show the solar system, with its one sun and three planets.

"It would seem as though, from an outside perspective, that our ship ran into nothing and then a solar system appeared." Icheb said. "If anyone is out there, they are going to be quite surprised."

"So a few minutes have passed and that's all?" Janeway asked.

"It seems like it captain." Harry said.

Janeway walked away from the ops station and down to the center of the bridge. She turned smiled and held up her arms.

"Well its been a hell of a few minutes."


	31. Book 1 : Chapter 30

**Chapter 30  
**_History_

Chris was sitting on a bio bed cross-legged looking at the spider in the sample tray from across sickbay. He squinted and try to remember anything he could about it. But nothing came to mind. The only thing he knew was that he should be angry at the spider for some reason.

Sil had fallen asleep on the empty bio bed beside his. She had been exhausted after all that had happened. The Doctor was in his office sitting at his computer and the lights in sickbay had been dimmed.

Chris looked around the room, everything seemed new to him, but somehow familiar. He saw a panel on the wall and immediately recognized it was for power distribution but had no idea how he knew that it was. He looked around the room some more and saw other things he knew the use for, but no idea why he knew it. The Doctor had said something about instincts and memories but he had been too groggy at the time to understand him fully.

He looked over at Sil who was sleeping quietly. She was pretty when she was asleep. Actually, she was most of the time. He smiled to himself. So much had changed for him. He felt a new sense of courage that was never there before, almost like someone else had given him their strength, and in a way, someone had.

At the same time, Sil had been a support he had needed in all of this. If it hadn't have been for her he wouldn't have survived the transition, that he knew. He slid to the edge of the bio bed and sat facing her. When they had time, he would ask her everything about herself. He wanted to know her better.

The door to sickbay opened getting Chris's attention. Chakotay entered followed by Tuvok and they both walked into the doctors enclosed office.  
He watched as they talked amongst themselves and the Doctor pivoted his computer to face them. Chakotay and Tuvok studied the screen intently for a moment then started talking again.

The Doctor stood and led them out into the main area of sickbay where Chris was sitting.

"The last incident provided me with enough information to create a hypospray that will cancel out the toxin the arachnids impale in their victims. If you are bitten, it will hurt, but you won't lose consciousness." The Doctor said more quietly than normal due to Sil sleeping nearby.

Chakotay tilted his head as the Doctor pushed a vial up to his neck where it made a small hiss. Tuvok was next.

"We'll take two more for Paris and Seven." Chakotay said.

Chris let his feet fall to the floor and walked over to them. Tuvok nodded as he approached.

"What's going on?" Chris asked.

"We are going back to the Causality. Someone there deactivated the engine core," Chakotay replied," We need to see who it is and also see what the arachnid situation is."

Chris wanted to go, and it seemed that Chakotay noticed that his face showed anticipation.

"Doctor, is he fit enough to come along?" Chakotay asked the hologram who was standing over the arachnid studying it some more. "After all, if he's going to be with us on Voyager from now on he'll need to learn to carry his own weight. And perhaps it will jog some of those memories."

The Doctor looked up and thought a moment, he then looked down again at the spider.

"He's fine to go, beside having more instincts than he had before, he's perfectly normal." he said while continuing his work.

"Are you up for it?" Chakotay asked him holding up one of the vials.

Chris tilted his head to one side.

"Very." He said eagerly.

Chakotay pressed the vial to his neck and it gave an odd sensation. It hadn't hurt but he had felt the antitoxin enter his skin. He turned to get one more look at Sil before he left. To his surprise, she was sitting up looking directly at him.

"Be safe" she said softly.

He smiled at her, nodded and then followed Chakotay and Tuvok out into the corridor. As they walked down the corridor, Tuvok was explaining their mission in more detail to Chris, as the others already knew the plan.

"Once in the cargo bay, we will need to fortify our position, and make sure there are no arachnids outside the engine room. Because there is still interference in the engine room, preventing our scans from penetrating, Seven of Nine and I will head to the bridge and attempt to restore operation to the internal sensors."

They entered a turbo-lift.

"Commander Chakotay, Yourself and Mr. Paris, will proceed to the engine room and see if the door has held. All the time looking for signs of whomever deactivated the engine core."

The turbo-lift opened and they exited walking once more down a corridor. Soon they came to the transporter room. Inside, Seven was wearing a backpack, and Tom was behind her putting something into it. Tom looked up and nodded to them, while Seven tightened the strap around her waist.

"Chris, let me show you how to use this. We can't beam in there with an unarmed team member." Tom said holding up a phaser. After locking the phaser to stun, Tom went over the basics and Chris understood most of it. Instinct, he reminded himself; don't over think, it will work for you.

They all moved into position on the pad and another crew member nodded to them, wished them luck and then activated the transporter.

* * *

Janeway sighed to herself.

All they could do was wait. They had already gone over all the data five times, and going over it again wouldn't do any good. The fracture shockwave hadn't dissipated like the field had, and it would impact the planet in thirteen minutes.

She knew it would play havoc with their systems, and she had thought about having B'Elanna shut down the warp core but it was too risky to do without the ability to eject the core if something went wrong.

After all, they were partially submersed and some of the power relays were still underwater. A core shutdown now might have meant they would be without power for days because they couldn't get to the conduits if they were damaged.

Harry had picked up a planet wide alert that the Frain had issued, to warn their population of the approaching wave. The people on this planet were versatile and they reminded her of her own kind. Would humans have been so paranoid about aliens if they had been in the Frain's shoes when Voyager had crashed.

She thought back to the first contact with the Vulcans. Humans were lucky they had met peaceful aliens first. She could only imagine what it would have been like if Klingons had come to earth first, or the Romulans. And what about the Ferengi, oh the Ferengi, they would have bought earth if they would have had the chance.

Yes, for the people of Fra, the field around this solar system had been a gift and a curse. She only hoped the Frain were up to the universe being at their front door.

The turbo-lift at the rear of the bridge opened getting Janeway's attention. Sil entered with a worried expression on her face.

Janeway motioned to her to come over. Harry looked up as Sil passed him. She seemed out of place with her grey skin but she was indeed lovely and Janeway saw that idea flash in Harry's eyes as Sil had passed.

As Sil approached her, she saw her smile, the look of worry leaving her face.

"Captain, I just wanted to know if there was anything I could do to help. With Chris and your people gone to the other ship I feel like I should be doing something to ensure their safe return."

Janeway held up her hand motioning towards her ready room. She followed Sil inside and waited for the door to close.

"I'm not sure there's much you can do right now. In fact I'm not even able to find anything to do at the moment. With the shockwave approaching I've ordered my crew to their stations, and my station is here on deck one. So I'm glad you came up. I wanted to talk to you about your people."

Sil smiled, and Janeway knew she had just raised Sil's spirits by asking her about her people. She could tell Sil was proud of her peoples accomplishments and way of life.

"What exactly would you like to know, Captain?" Sil asked sitting down beside Janeway on the couch that lined the ready rooms window.

"Tell me, what do you think your people will do now that the universe is open to them?" Janeway asked looking out the window at the stars. The night sky seemed to move and distort due to the shockwaves approach, but the stars were lovely nonetheless.

"Universe. Before yesterday I wouldn't have even found myself saying that word. But now I'm astonished at the possibilities. To be able to explore such a vast and wonderful expanse. Its any scientists dream." Sil said looking out the window as well.

Janeway smiled, Sil reminded her a bit of herself. "Yes, but I feel I should let you know that not everywhere you go will be peaceful and welcoming." she said frowning and shaking her head.

"No, I would assume not. After all, there must be millions of Toks out there." Sil said also frowning.

Janeway thought for a moment about the madman in her brig. He reminded her of a few humans and aliens from Earth and Federation history.  
In fact, she recalled one mission of the Enterprise D where the first officer was stranded on a planet before first contact had taken place. The military leader of that planet had tried to force a war between what he assumed were hostile aliens and his people by making it seem like the first officer had attacked him. And that was just one of many occasions where one individual in a place of power had created undue chaos. She wondered if history would say that they had been lucky this time. Or perhaps instead history would say that the loss of even just the Frain leaders life had been too costly a tradeoff for first contact.

"Might I ask you about your names? You seemed interested in ours being so long. Have none of your people ever had a name that was longer?"

Sil tilted her head, clearly contemplating her answer.

"Well, there was one civilian who made quite a stir around Fra. He called himself Met Roe. He was born as just Met, but added the 'second name' as he called it, in honor of his father Roe of Internal Security Delta One who died saving another mans life."

Sil stopped a moment and looked out the window at the city in the distance.

"It actually seemed like a good sentiment. Many Frain began to adopt what he did. But mostly in close private circles only. When in a public place or at work all Frain make sure to speak their name and their position of work. It has been a strong religious issue for many generations."

"Religious issue?" Janeway repeated.

"According to history, our gods had little need for naming their slaves but would give them short identifiers which were less names and more sounds than anything. When the gods disappeared, the people of that time had no way of knowing what to name their children beside a short burst of sound. Ever since that time, my people have struggled with moving beyond the traditions of when the gods ruled. But many religious Frain believe if we stray too far from those set traditions, even with something that seems simple like the naming tradition, that our gods will return to punish us."

This is what Janeway had always found most fascinating about space exploration. It wasn't just nebulae and space anomalies, but it was also the deep histories every species had. Each species had experienced a completely different history and had evolved based on it.

The klaxon sounded and amber hue of the red alert showed from the paneling in the wall. Janeway knew the wave was about to hit. And although she would have rather continued Sil and her conversation, she knew she should be on the bridge when the wave hit so stood nodded and motioned for Sil to follow her.

Once on the bridge, she looked to the view screen. On it was displayed a diagram of the planet.

The shockwave had collided with a portion of the planet already. Since they were on the horizon nearing the morning side of the planets rotation, it would move along the surface like sunlight travels.

Sil moved beside her and closed her eyes. Janeway imagined she was wishing all of her people safe from harm.

"Impact with the shields in eight seconds." Harry said from the ops station.

Sil opened her eyes and then whispered, "I hope he's all right."


	32. Book 1 : Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**  
_Wave of Grief_

Chris materialized in the same place he had during the last away mission. He quickly took cover behind a crate he remembered was to his left. Tuvok took place by his side. They both had their phasers at ready.

Chris looked to his right when he heard Chakotay whisper to Tom and then saw him point towards the cargo bay door. Chris peered around the crate towards the door which was open where he saw a quick movement of shadow.

He ducked quickly and motioned for Tuvok to look.

Tuvok peered over the crate and then moved out from behind the crate into a dark corner near the open stasis tube.

Tom came to join Chris behind his crate.

"Someone is over there, we're going to sneak around and take them by surprise." Tom whispered.

Chris nodded and followed Tom around the back of a storage shelf filled with large crates. Seven was crouched there behind one of the larger crates. She nodded to them and motioned towards the door. Whoever it was, they were still there.

Seven stood suddenly and fired her phaser. There was a soft patter of what sounded like bare feet and then another phaser shot. Then there was the distinct sound of someone falling to the ground.

"Its all clear." Seven said looking down at Tom and Chris who were still crouched beside the crate.

They both stood still holding their phasers at ready. Chris looked towards the door where Chakotay was kneeling over someone. He moved closer as Tuvok passed him and leaned around the door frame to look into the corridor.

Chris then saw who it was they had stunned. It was a Frain boy, or at least it almost looked like a Frain boy. He had no hair and he seemed malnourished. His clothes were sparse, rag-like, and only covered a few parts of his body.

Chakotay was scanning him with his tricorder.

"His bloodstream is full of the toxin." Chakotay said looking up at Seven when she crouched on the opposite side of the boy. "He can't be much more than thirteen years old."

"How did he get in here, I thought the Frain had cordoned off the ship." Chris asked looking around.

Tuvok suddenly moved quickly back into the room and motioned for the others to take cover.

"Someone else is coming." he said as softly as he could, but still enough to be heard by the rest of the team.

Tom grabbed Chris by the arm and pulled him beside Tuvok against the wall. Chakotay and Seven moved against the opposite wall.

The soft patter of bare feet got ever so slowly closer.

After a moment another Frain male came into view. This one was older and taller, but he was dressed much the same.

There was also something else different about him. An arachnid was attached to his back with its legs wrapped around the mans torso and meeting in the front like an extra pair of ribs.

The man was looking down at the fallen boy when Tuvok fired and dropped him as well.

The spider attached to the man squealed and released his grip on the man almost mid collapse. However the momentum cause it to land on its back and quickly it flipped to right itself.

Chris raised his phaser and fired, but missed. Tom, who was beside him fired as well and hit the target square in the center of its body. The impact alone crushed the spiders exoskeleton and killed it.

Seven quickly closed the cargo bay door manually by continuously raising and lowering a handle inside a panel to the doors right.

Once it was closed, Chakotay began to scan the man that had entered with the spider attached to him.

"It looked almost like that spider was controlling him, did you see the blank expression on his face?" Tom said kneeling beside Chakotay.

"Yes, it looks like it was biting into him here," Chakotay said pointing to the mans spinal cord near the neck. "His nervous system seems to be filled with that toxin. It must double some kind of controlling agent."

"Fascinating." Tuvok said, "It seems we have found how the spiders deactivated the engine core. They used these Frain as hosts so they could utilize they're opposable thumbs and fingers, something that's required to use the computers and machinery."

Chakotay's tricorder beeped.

"The shockwave is approaching. We will have to wait here until it passes. It should only take a few minutes. Take up defensive positions on that door, just in case we have any more visitors."

* * *

Sil watched as the deck plating in front of her suddenly bent and distorted as the shockwave impacted the shields and passed right through them unaffected by their defensive force. The entire ship was engulfed in a moment's passing.

Sil, along with Janeway, who had been standing beside her, fell to the floor. For a moment there were no sounds and no feelings, just the thoughts in her mind and those seemed to race.

A panel exploded on the right side of the bridge.

Sil heard Janeway yelling something from behind her. She was unable to make out what the Captain had said as another panel exploded and threw a large chunk of metal in her direction. After a flash of light there was only darkness.

* * *

Janeway watched as the deck plating in front of her unexpectedly bent and distorted. At that moment she knew the shields hadn't protected them as she hoped they would. She felt a violent force throw her to the floor with Sil landing beside her. Harry must have been thrown too because she heard him groan from the ops station.

She couldn't feel her body for a moment but she still managed to move and climb into her chair. Still on the floor in front of her Sil was looking up at an exploding console to Janeway's right.

"The shields must be amplifying the shockwave's energy into our systems!" she yelled as another panel exploded.

Janeway watched a piece of debris as it struck Sil in the forehead. Then she saw the after image of the same thing happen again, and then again.

After the third time it faded and she saw Sil laying motionless on the floor in front of her.

Janeway heard her own voice before she could speak and then reacted by saying what she had heard herself say. "Harry, Sil is hurt, get a med pack!" And the statement was then immediately by her own voice repeating what she had just said.

After no one responded she turned and saw Harry draped over his console also motionless.

This day wasn't going at all as she planned. She moved as best as she could in these circumstances. And just as when she spoke she saw herself move before she did. She almost seemed to be following herself. It was making her sick to her stomach. It was like she was moving in and out of zero G.

Under her feet the deck plating was still distorting and seemed out of sync with her. She stumbled and fell beside Sil. She crawled beside her and checked her pulse. It was strong, but she had a large scrape on her forehead where a light blue blood was slowly seeping out.

She heard her comm badge chirp, and she quickly tapped it.

"Janeway here." She said, her voice trailing itself a few times.

She thought she heard B'Elanna's voice, but it was overlapped by her own as it had echoed.

"Please repeat." she said and waited a moment.

_"Captain, the shields are holding the waves effect inside the ship, I am going to deactivate them!"_ said five or six layers and copies of B'Elanna's voice.

"Understood!" Janeway said trying not to vomit.

After a few moments another console at the helm exploded and she saw a quick image in the flash of herself still standing next to Sil, like they had been before the wave. The image reflected in the sparks for a moment and then faded. Then the turbulence was gone and the feeling of shattered time stopped.

Smoke was pouring out of multiple stations and for a moment all Janeway could do was stare at the spot she had seen Sil and herself reflected in the sparks. For a moment she had felt as if she could almost reach out and warn her past self of the coming danger.

The sound of someone moving behind her jostled her back into the moment. She looked over her shoulder and saw Harry standing upright grabbing his forehead. She was glad he was alright. As for the bridge itself, it looked like it had been hit by a storm and she imagined the rest of the ship didn't look any better.


	33. Book 1 : Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**  
_Villains_

An unconscious alien lay before him.

Tok had been surprised when he saw the energy field that imprisoned him disperse when the room started to shake. But he had taken advantage of the situation and had leapt forward onto the guard who had been watching him.

He had struggled a moment with him but was able to force him into the wall and knock him out. Tok been trained to fight those of a taller stature but this had been as difficult a challenge as any.

After a few more seconds or two the room stopped spinning and everything seemed normal. Even the energy field that had held him had returned, but luckily he was now on the outside of it. Tok grabbed the weapon off the aliens side holster and looked over how it worked. If anything was certain, it was that Tok knew weapons. He could figure this out without any trouble. The weapon seemed to have two settings each with its own multiple power levels. One setting was for kill and one was for incapacitate. He only needed kill. He moved quickly towards the door and it opened for him.

"They need to work on their security." He muttered to himself.

In the corridor, which was empty as far as he could tell, smoke was billowing from a few panels in the walls. Something had just happened to the alien vessel and Tok couldn't have been happier. They deserved everything that was coming to them.

He leaned against the wall and slid down the corridor using the wall as cover as he went. After a few moments he heard talking up ahead.

He could understand what the voices were saying. He wasn't sure how they had done it, but the fact they all could speak his peoples language was proof enough they had been preparing this for a long time.

A short female alien came into view. She was wearing a pink outfit and had long sandy hair, and at her side was a much taller female alien who had a similar facial appearance.

They both froze when they saw him.

* * *

Nothing seemed to be happening at first. Chris didn't feel any different but he noticed that a flashing indicator on Chakotay's tricorder seemed to speed up and slow down. And Chakotay himself looked to be as well. The rest of the ship however seemed unaffected.

Tuvok, who had been crouched in the corner near Chris, looked as if he was about to stand but then vanished from view and then reappeared holding something he hadn't been a moment ago.

Then Chakotay then spoke up, "Ok, it's passed."

Tom seemed disappointed. And shrugged donning a smile.

"We've been through worse than that. Nebulae, alien armada's, pulsars, even the creation of the universe thanks to Q and his pal Quinn." Paris said with a laugh.

"Q?" Chris asked feeling he was missing something.

Chakotay grabbed Tom's shoulder and gave him a sturdy look. "Not so loud... he may hear you." The commander said, and then after a moment of trying to be serious, he smiled.

Tuvok held up the object in his hand and nodded to it.

"Seven's phaser. I noticed it hit the ground beside me during the wave anomaly."

"Where is she?" Chakotay asked looking around. Tom, Chris and Tuvok all began to look as well. She was nowhere in sight.

"She was here before the wave hit so she couldn't have gone far." Tom said holding up his tricorder to scan.

"Over here." Tuvok said from behind a few containers.

Chris followed Chakotay and Tom to where Tuvok was crouched peering inside some sort of hatchway.

"An access tube." Chakotay said peering inside, "I wonder what compelled her to go inside."

Tuvok reached down to the floor and then raised his finger which was covered in a blue residue. "I don't think she had much of a choice."

Chakotay shed some light down the hatchway which curved in the direction of the engine room.

"It seems we didn't do as good a job sealing off the engine room as we hoped we had." Chakotay said as he readied his phaser, "Tom, you and Chris stay here and keep this area secure. Tuvok and I are going to find her."

"Yes commander." Tom replied.

Chakotay and Tuvok entered the opening and vanished from sight. Tom placed his tricorder on a crate near the opening and set some controls.  
"I'll set this to warn us if anything is approaching from this passageway." Tom said.

Chris decided it was time to get a few of his questions answered, so he moved over to the closed stasis pod beside the one he had emerged from. He wanted to know what was inside. Tom must have realized his intentions because he had come over and begun to analyze the control panel.  
Tom placed a device on the black surface and it lit up.

Chris found himself thinking on impulse that it was a temporary battery.

Now displayed on the panel was the word 'Error'.

"It seems whatever was in here wasn't as lucky as you were." he said pushing a button that said, 'Cycle'. The tube slowly slid open and inside was something they didn't expect to see. Decomposed and slumped over itself was a human body. It was wearing the same uniform Tobias had been. Around its torso was wrapped a Gullina, which seemed less decomposed than the human.

Tom opened the backpack Seven had placed on the floor before she had disappeared and retrieved another tricorder.

He began to scan.

* * *

Tuvok was two meters in front of Chakotay and they were making slow progress in the less than normally sized access tube. The ship seemed to be made to conserve space to allow for a smaller size. The size of the bridge began to make more sense to him now.

"Commander, I believe the Causality was designed small to allow it to be constructed faster and using less materials. Perhaps a product of war or waning resources?"

Chakotay looked up at Tuvok and smiled, "Seems to me that whatever the purpose of this ship they still should have made these access hatches slightly bigger."

Tuvok would never understand human need to complain about the unchangeable. But nonetheless he understood the commanders discomfort.

Up ahead Tuvok heard a skittering sound. He lifted his light beacon and aimed his phaser in the direction they were crawling.

He saw what looked like thick webbing, but it seemed to be pulsating slightly.

"They work fast, don't they." Chakotay said peering by him. "Lets take this left passage."

Tuvok aimed his light beacon to the left and saw there was a junction beside him that he hadn't seen. How had he missed it? His thoughts had preoccupied him. He pushed his thoughts aside and tried to concentrate on the mission.

Chakotay moved into the left opening and took point. Tuvok looked towards the webbing once more. It seemed to be moving closer crawling slowly along the walls of the passage.

"Commander, I estimate that webbing will reach this junction in a matter of minutes." Tuvok reported.

Chakotay looked back towards him and frowned. "We'll have to hurry then."


	34. Book 1 : Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**  
_The Web_

Seven couldn't move, and for that matter she could barely breathe. One of the arachnids had attacked her from behind during the shockwave collision and had taken her by surprise.

Even though she was much larger than the spider, it had wrapped itself around her torso immobilizing her. Then another Gullina had then started to drag her and her captor away by her ankles. The creatures seemed to communicate in an unknown means for they made no sound when attacking.

She had screamed for the others to help her but they had seemed frozen. The shockwave had clearly been effecting them.

She was now hanging from a large adhesive polymer. It was slowly wrapping itself around her body as if it had a mind of its own. Her new living prison was strung between the catwalks in the engine room. She took the moment to look around to analyze the situation.

The room had significantly less arachnids than Chakotay had said were there before. So she assumed they must have gone elsewhere.

In the middle of the room the strange energy flux hovered, centered inside the now dormant engine core.

She couldn't be sure, but her ocular implants seemed to be picking up an atmosphere venting from inside the anomaly. It was definitely a doorway from the place the spiders had emerged from. She wondered if it was a two way anomaly and would allow travel through from this side.

Scattered around the room a few Frain under the control of their masters were working on the machinery and computers which still had emergency power. She looked at one of the Frain as closely as she could.

The subject she chose to analyze was a female about Sil's height and age. She was covered in smaller arachnids which were perhaps Gullina young. They were wrapped around her limbs and neck. Seven hypothesized that since they hadn't fully matured they needed to work together, as each young spider was adding to the amount of control they had over their host.

Suddenly Seven felt a sharp pain in her leg. She looked down as much as she could while adhered to the webbing. On her leg she saw one of the smaller spiders had attached itself and had bitten into her. She wondered how long the doctors anti-venom would last.

Across the room, the female she had been watching suddenly collapsed. Seven tried to see if she was ok but she could only see her legs from behind one of the workstations.

Then one of the larger spiders grabbed the woman by the ankles and began to lift her with some of the polymer that Seven was held in already. After a moment the woman was hanging beside Seven.

The female seemed conscious and was staring at her with fear in her eyes. Seven had no idea if the situation the Frain was in had made the woman afraid or if seeing an alien had. After all, for all she knew the woman had grown accustomed to being a slave.

The woman moved her lips to speak but Seven couldn't hear her. She seemed too weak to speak.

The smaller spiders that were attached to the woman detached their grip and started to move to different sections of her body. Suddenly the woman screamed in pain.

Seven then realized what was happening. The Frain woman was being eaten alive by the young. And in the adhesive polymer was were the feeding took place.

Seven hazarded a look down at the spider on her leg and there beside it she saw another moving to attach itself on her other leg.  
Seven closed her eyes. She now knew the venom was the least of her worries. It seemed the Gullina released their victims from their dormant state while they ate them. And due to the fact they must have realized that Seven was immune to their control, they had decided to skip to the eating phase of the procedure.

It seemed the Doctor's anti-venom was to be her doom.

* * *

Chakotay heard screaming up ahead and began to crawl faster. Even though he was getting steadily closer to the cries he didn't know if it was Seven or not. Whoever it was it sounded like they were in terrible pain.

Tuvok was behind him and was crawling at the same increased speed. Ahead of them Chakotay could see an opening, which was the same size as the crawlspace, he also saw they had made it to the Engine room.

However, the sight he saw was one of horror. Across the room from him, hanging on a giant moving web, was Seven and a Frain woman. The source of the screaming seemed to be the Frain woman. She was writhing in pain. He couldn't tell why she was in pain from where he was but Seven seemed to be agitated as well.

Seven took notice of him and became still as she peered at him. She seemed to be trying to convey something to him without saying anything aloud. Maybe that was it entirely. The Gullina that were around the room didn't know he was there and she knew any act on her part would give him away.

Tuvok was behind him waiting. Chakotay motioned for him to be as quiet as possible. He then peered out from the hole and looked around to get placements on every living thing in the room. None of the arachnids were near him. There was however a Frain man using a console below him. He seemed to not notice the head peering at him from about a meter up.

Chakotay readied his phaser and took aim at the arachnid closest to Seven. He would first attempt to free her and then he would worry about the rest of the room. Tuvok would know to lay down cover fire once he made his way out of the access hatch.

He fired a beam at the Gullina he had been aiming at and it collapsed from the force. The rest of the room seemed to come to life in almost an instant. The Frain under the control of the venom began to sway back and forth as if they didn't know what to do. The arachnids however weren't so confused as they quickly scattered out of sight. He couldn't tell if they were afraid or taking up a more tactical position.

Chakotay quickly dropped down from the hatch and pushed the Frain man aside without any real reaction from the stunned slave. He quickly crossed the walkway to where there should have been an access ramp to the other side of the room, but it was gone. He knew he had seen it when they had been here the first time. But now there was just a large gap.

Above him he heard some movement and he quickly looked up. There he saw the ramp in question. It looked to have been torn free and raised by the webbing as if it had been made of paper. Had they done this on purpose?

A trap.

Chakotay quickly turned to return to the hatch, but had realized too late what was happening. He was surrounded with nowhere to go.

Tuvok then began to fire at the arachnids surrounding Chakotay. It gave him some time to think, but not much. He had to think fast and they were coming from all sides. Except for one.

The open area where the engine core was, which sat about four meters below him, was clear. But the distance to the platform on the other side of the span seemed too far for him to traverse. He could jump for it and try to make it, but it was a risky move. If he fell he would fall into the energy flux that had remained open inside the engine core.

He had no idea what would happened if he entered it. Would he go to where the spiders came from? Would he be vaporized from the energy output? There was no way to know.

He looked up at Seven, and he made a choice.

"Seven, cut yourself free!" he yelled to her as he tossed his phaser in her direction. It landed and stuck to the webbing a few inches from her left hand. He had no idea if she would be able to reach it but he had taken the risk. If he fell, she would need his phaser more than he would.

He leapt for the other side just as an arachnid charged his left leg. It must have caught him slightly as he jumped, because he felt his trajectory change.

He wasn't going to make it.


	35. Book 1 : Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**  
_Flight or Fight_

Seven watched in horror as Chakotay fell into the energy flux and vanished in a flash of light. She looked up at Tuvok who had also been watching.

he stalwart Vulcan again began to fire at anything that moved while keeping his side of the room relatively clear.

Seven looked up at the Frain woman beside her whom the Gullina young had stopped eating when Chakotay had attacked. She was also watching everything that was happening around her. She seemed slightly hysterical which made sense since her skin was covered in bites and contusions.

Using what strength she could muster Seven started to twist her body to her right. The webbing partially allowed her to move without freeing her completely. She grasped her right hand around the phaser and fired it directly along the webs edge, burning it slightly.

She then readjusted her aim and fired once more, this time she severely severed the webs hold on the ceiling. She and the Frain woman both fell to the raised platform Chakotay had tried to reach.

Quickly Seven began to tear the webbing from her body the best she could, and noticed the Frain woman was doing so as well.

A phaser blast passed by Seven's shoulder and she heard a sudden crack behind her. Turning she saw a dead arachnid in the corner. She looked up and nodded to Tuvok.

However, Tuvok seemed to be preoccupied with something in the crawlspace behind him.

"We can't get out this way, its being blocked by webbing." He yelled to her as he started to crawl out of the opening.

She grabbed the Frain woman by the arm and started to pull her towards the ladder to the lower area where the engine room entrance was. The Frain woman partially followed and partially pulled away.

"We have to get out of here," she yelled at her reluctant companion who seemed to change her mind and began to cooperate.

Tuvok leapt from his vantage point and began to make his way towards the door as well, pushing back many arachnid with his phaser as he moved.

Both Seven and Tuvok were spraying fire about the room and it seemed as though they were starting to thin the arachnid's numbers.

Upon reaching the door, which was still closed from the outside, Seven ripped a panel off the wall and began to attempt to open it. Tuvok moved into position behind her continuing to fire at their attackers.

Seven bypassed the emergency shutoff and reattached the power coupling. She then aimed her phaser at the power input connection and fired.

There was a sudden dimming of the emergency lights in the room as a momentary power boost was created in the backup system.

The door began to slowly open. The Frain woman noticed this and scrambled through the small opening between the doors before it seemed large enough to pass through. Once she was all the way through, Tuvok motioned for Seven to go next. She turned, fired one more shot at an approaching arachnid and then backed through the opening, followed closely by Tuvok.

"We have to feedback the actuators!" Seven yelled to Tuvok.

She aimed her phaser at the open paneling on the right of the door and Tuvok aimed at the left. Both fired, causing a feedback to force the door to shut. Seven knew the circuits were now fused and nothing would open this door again.

Seven looked to Tuvok and wondered what had become of Chakotay. If he had survived the transition to the other side of the energy flux, what had he found once there? And, she knew if he was ever able to find a way to return, they had just sealed his only escape.

* * *

The Doctor was working quickly. He had come to the bridge wearing his mobile emitter and was seeing to Sil's injuries. The Captain was pacing, which in the Doctor's experience was never a good sign. She stumbled slightly and caught herself on her center chair.

"Captain, I suggest you try to calm down, you are showing signs of stress related fatigue." he said while searching his database for the correct procedure to repair the wound on Sil's forehead. Her Species had been unfamiliar, but they were similar enough to humans. The Doctor had of course taken note of this upon seeing to the one named Ret the day before.

One of the few differences he had noticed was the type of blood cells present in the Frain circulatory system. What were normally red blood cells in Humans, were instead blue blood cells, which accounted for the color of their blood when they were wounded. He had seen that they also had a slightly higher white blood cell count than that of humans, meaning they would be resistant to most sickness and disease. However, most curious of all, was that he had discovered yet another type of blood cell, one he had never encountered before. The third type of blood cell, which was a greyish color, seemed to transmit data to the brain not unlike the nervous system. It seemed almost like a backup. If the spinal column was severed. it was entirely likely that the subject could still move their body but at a reduced speed of reaction. This probably also gave the Frain the ability to have faster reflexes when both the spine and the blood cells were working in conjunction with each other. It was likely that the blood cells had been engineered to do this long ago, when the Frain had been genetically created by the Gullina.

"Doctor, can you help her?" Harry asked as he lifted a piece of debris off of the conn station's control panel so he could assess the damage there.

The Doctor, raised his tricorder and began to scan once more. He couldn't determine the level of damage to her cerebral cortex.

"It's too early to tell, I need to get her to sickbay."

His patient stirred slightly and whispered something aloud. Sil seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness.

The Captain had apparently heard what Sil had whispered, because she grabbed his shoulder and gave him a look of sadness and despair. "Help her, do whatever it takes." she said to him and then turned and walked towards her ready room.

The Doctor looked down at his patient as she breathed weakly. He waved an ensign over to help him lift the stretcher they had placed her on. As they hoisted her she whispered again.

She had again said the same thing she had a moment before, The same thing in which the captain had reacted to with serious emotion. From all his work with Seven on her emotions and knowing what people felt and why, he understood why it had upset her so. He planned on giving Sil the chance to say it again.

* * *

Harry chimed the captains ready room door. After the Doctor had left with the ensign carrying Sil to sickbay it had left Harry alone on the bridge yet again. The previous repairs had been almost completed before the new damage had been sustained, setting them back yet again.

"Come." He heard the captain say after a moment. He entered carrying a padd with the list of damaged sectors of the ship.

The Captain was sitting on her couch which lined the windows of her ready room. She was staring out over the ocean water and biting a nail on her left hand.

Harry had seen the Captain upset only a few times before and he had made sure to never say anything about it to anyone, not even the Captain herself.

She looked up at him, and saw the padd in his hand.

"Is that the damage report?" she asked holding out her hand. He handed it to her without a word. She looked over it briefly and then lobbed it onto her desk with a bit more emphasis than normal.

"I don't know Harry, everything was starting to look up, and then this happened. Sil didn't ask for any of this, none of the Frain did. And neither did we." she said standing to her feet.

Harry just watched her as she walked the length of the room. He knew normally she would be talking to Chakotay or even Tuvok, but right now he was all she had.

She turned to face him again.

Harry stared in silence a moment and then realized she was waiting for him to say something. He swallowed hard and tried to form a sentence in his mind.

"Captain, I know you will get us through this," he said, that being all he could come up with.

She smiled slightly at that and then turned away to look out over the water again. She whispered something to herself, and Harry couldn't quite hear it.

"Captain?"

"Did you happen to hear what Sil had whispered?"

Harry had thought he had heard her say something on the bridge while the Doctor was looking over her, but he hadn't heard exactly what.

"No, Captain."

Janeway turned and faced him again. And then she smiled. But before she could say anything more the comm channel chirped and the captain tapped her combadge.

"Janeway here."

_"Captain, this is Ensign Maxwell. Tok has escaped his cell. And Captain, he has my phaser."_

Janeway exchanged a glance with Harry and Harry felt suddenly overwhelmed. They couldn't catch a break and he knew the captain was feeling the same way.

"Understood, security teams, intruder alert." she said and the red alert klaxon sounded once, then went to silent red alert mode.


	36. Book 1 : Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**  
_Into Oblivion_

Tok looked up from the console when a loud noise blared once and then subsided. Beside him, the alien female was working the control panel in the room he had appeared in against his will. On his other side was the younger of the two aliens he had encountered in the corridor. He had been able to take her hostage and forced who was apparently the younger aliens mother to do as he told.

Now she was working quickly on what she had called the transporter, which Tok was beginning to understood. The same device that had whisked him away could also send him to anywhere on the planet. And while he had his child hostage, the mother would not be able to deceive him.

"You should hurry. I don't know how long I can hold myself off from hurting your offspring. She is a vile thing indeed." he said sneering down at the ugly alien who had strange thorn-like objects on her forehead. Yet the mother had none. It seemed the aliens had disguised their true form and their young had less ability to hold that form. Yes, that was it entirely. He was getting deeper into their true identity.

"I almost have it, just don't hurt her." the mother alien said as she pushed a few more controls.

"Now remember, send me to the same place you sent that despicable one named Christopher." Tok said pulling tighter on the little one's collar. She whimpered slightly and then was quiet. The younger one was taking this better than the mother it seemed.

"There, I've entered the coordinates." she said to him. "Now, let her go."

He pulled the little one with him as he approached the departure pad. He then turned and aimed the weapon at the little one.

"I never said I would release her. Besides, I must take her with me to ensure your sincerity in the task."

The mother looked angry and ready to charge him but he tapped his weapon on her offsprings cheek and she seemed to become more reasonable.

"Now, send us there." he said looking around him, unsure how the device really worked.

The mother looked down at her offspring, nodded to her and then activated something on the console.

Tok raised his weapon and aimed it as he felt a tingle in his skin which he remembered. He readied himself to press the fire button.

"Thank you for you help." he said as he felt himself fade away. Then he pushed the fire button. He watched the mother try to dive out of the way in the fading room. The little one screamed and tried to reach out but they were no longer in the same room they had been.

Tok had been unable to see if he had hit his target be he had to hope for the best though. He hoped he had killed her.

He looked around him and recognized the walls and dim lighting. He was back on his captured trophy ship. He smiled.

"What the hell is going on." Tok heard someone say behind him. He turned and readjusted his aim to once again point to the child.

A taller male alien stood before him, and beside him was the exact alien he was looking for. The one known as Chris.

* * *

Chris stood motionless in utter shock and awe. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing. There, in front of him and Tom was Tok, and he was holding a little girl as hostage. He had a feeling, no... he knew Tok would not hesitate to fire at all of them, including the child.

"Naomi, are you ok?" Tom asked from beside Chris. He was aiming a phaser at Tok but was holding his fire since Tok's weapon was aimed at the one named Naomi.

Chris hadn't realized there were children on board Voyager. In fact, he hardly knew anything about most of the crew. But right now wasn't the time to worry about that. Naomi was in trouble and it was his fault. Tok wanted him, this he knew quite well.

Revenge burned in the madman's good eye.

Tom started to circle to the right, but Tok made a motion of moving the phaser closer to Naomi's face.

She actually didn't seem scared. And then she smiled. Chris thought that a bit odd, but she had been looking at Tok's phaser when she had done it.

Naomi stomped down hard on her captors foot and he yelled loudly as he released his grip on her. Chris rushed in and grabbed her and then retreated behind a crate. He then heard Tom fire his phaser.

After releasing Naomi to sit on the floor behind the safety of the crate Chris drew his own phaser and peered back around into the center of the room.

He couldn't see Tok. And Tom was aiming at the back of the room where a few crates were stacked.

"I missed him, he's fast on his feet, that one." Tom said walking over to where Tok's phaser was laying on the ground.

Naomi peered out from beside Chris and then looked up at him smiling.

"My mommy deactivated his phaser during transport." she said beaming a proud smile. Then suddenly as if remembering something, her expression changed to one of shock, "Mommy, he shot at her!"

Tom quickly tapped his combadge while still aiming at the stacked crates where Tok had retreated.

"Paris to Voyager. Is ensign Wildman ok?"

"Tom. We just received word from the transporter room, Ensign Wildman is fine. Tok's weapon energy dispersed during the transport." Harry said coming through clear, "She is inquiring how Naomi is."

"I'm fine Harry." Naomi said smiling again seeming very relieved. Then she stood tall and grinned, "I'm the captain's assistant after all. I'm very capable of taking care of myself."

Tom looked down at her and then back in the direction Tok had fled. "Harry, it would probably be best if you get Naomi out of here."

After a moment, Naomi faded away and Tom motioned for Chris to move around the right side of the cargo bay. Slowly they both made their way in a circle around to opposites sides of the shelving units.

Chris gripped his phaser and was ready to fire.

"Tok, you have no where to go, come out of there." Tom yelled as he stopped his circular motion. Chris stopped as well.

There was no response. In fact there was no sound at all.

Tom turned on his wrist beacon and aimed into the shadows behind the crates. And now both of them could see that Tok was not there, but an open crawlspace was.

Chris lowered his phaser and sighed.

"Should we go after him?" he asked as Tom holstered his phaser.

Tom looked at the tricorder on the crate near the other side of the room.

"We should wait here for the others to return.

Chris nodded and then proceeded to push a large crate in front of the opening Tok had exited through. He may have left that way, but he sure wasn't getting back in.

* * *

Tok was crawling through darkness. He was more angry than he had ever been in his whole life.

Somehow that damned alien woman had deactivated his weapon and her child had known it. They were smart, he would give them that, but he would not admit defeat. He would stop them at all costs.

He suddenly ran headfirst into a wall. Cursing to himself, he felt with his hands to find another opening. He found one on his left and entered it. He began to crawl on again until he saw a light up ahead.

As he got closer he could hear movement in whatever room lay ahead. He crawled faster towards the light. When he reached the end of the crawlspace he peered out into the room he had come to.

Before him he saw a large area with a massive device in the center. Inside it was a glowing light orb of some kind which looked almost like a hole into another world. The room itself was empty, except for large amounts of what looked like fluffy curtains streaming from every surface and railing.

He slowly lowered himself out of the hatchway. He dropped a good meter or so and landed on his feet. He then turned and peered at the hole inside the central device.

Then from above him he heard a strange noise. He looked up quickly to find out what was there. What he saw was something he would have never imagined. The god's, they were all around him. They were slowly crawling down the walls toward him. He fell to his knees and raised his arms.

"My god's, you have come to show your appreciation of my faith and determination. My unstoppable will to destroy those from beyond your creation."  
He lowered his arms and watched as the closest god made it's way up to face him directly.

Suddenly he felt his body jerk to one side. One of the god's had lashed out and pulled him quickly from where he had been kneeling. A pain shot through his leg and then his arm, and then all over.

"Why are you doing this!" he yelled in pain and terror. "I am your loyal servant!"

Tok tried to push them away but one of the larger god's had wrapped itself around his torso from behind. Then Tok felt a sharp pain in the back of his neck. And everything became blurry.

For a moment Tok thought he had died but then he felt and through his own eyes, watched, as he climb of the floor and begin to walk towards a console near the rear of the room.

He couldn't control his own body. He tried to speak but nothing happened. Then in the back of his mind he heard it, the god which was now his master. Inside his head it repeated one phrase, over and over.

Tok began to scream internally, but his god would not listen to him.

It simply kept repeating.

_You are no more._

_You are no more._

_You are no more._


	37. Book 1 : Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**  
_What Lay Beyond_

Tom sat down on a crate near the closed cargo bay door and leaned against the wall. Chris was across the room from him looking at the body inside the other stasis tube. He wondered what was going through Chris's head. But Tom felt it better to let him think for a while. He knew it must be hard to find yourself out of your own time with no way to get back.

Behind him, Tom heard a banging. Someone was trying to get in through the cargo bay door. Across the bay, Chris spun around and ran for cover pulling his phaser. He had quick reflexes, he would give him that. Tom dropped off the crate he had been sitting on and hid behind one of the fallen crates in the center of the bay.

After a moment the cargo bay door slightly opened producing Seven of Nine. She was shortly followed by Tuvok and a sickly looking Frain woman.  
The woman had cuts all over and was bleeding from most of them. She looked exhausted and about to collapse. Seven immediately moved over to the bag she had originally been carrying wen they had beamed in and took out a medpack.

"Seven, you're alright!" Chris exclaimed coming out of hiding.

"I am, but Chakotay fell into the energy flux in the engine room. We don't know what happened to him beyond that."

Tom holstered his phaser and helped Tuvok close the bay door once again. The news about the Commander was grim, and he knew the Captain wasn't going to be happy.

"Tok was here but he got away through one of the access hatches." Paris said to update Tuvok and Seven. Tuvok looked up and raised an eyebrow.

Seven turned to face Tom and then winced reaching for her leg. Looking down Tom saw a laceration like the one's the Frain woman had, he quickly reached for his med pack which was still in Seven's hand.

"Forget the medpack, we should get you both to sick bay." Tom said.

He tapped his combadge and requested transport directly to sickbay for the Frain woman and Seven. After a moment they had vanished but not before the Frain woman gave them a horrific look of terror as she started to fade away.

Tuvok had noticed the open stasis pod and had begun to examine the body that was within. Chris was beside him exactly where he had been standing a few moments before, and he had the same look on his face as well.

Tuvok looked down at his tricorder and again, he raised his eyebrow.

"Power was transferred from this device to another part of the ship at some point, it was the cause of the pods failure."

Tom looked at Tuvok's readings and agreed. He could see the rerouted junctions on the display. But to where had the power been rerouted, and why?

From behind them there was a beeping.

"Tom, your tricorder!" Chris said pointing at the hatch Chakotay and Tuvok had exited through earlier. "Something is coming!"

All three of them drew their phasers and took up positions around the room with clear vantage points of the hatch.

It was quiet for a moment and then sprang forth an arachnid. They all fired and collapsed the creature. But it was quickly followed by another and another.

Tuvok looked down at his tricorder which sat on the crate before him.

"I'm reading hundreds of signatures throughout the ship, all heading in this direction." he said tapping his combadge, "Tuvok to Voyager, emergency beam out of entire away team!"

Tom jumped out of the way of an attacking Gullina and the room disappeared before he hit the floor. Instead he landed hard on the translucent paneling of he transporter pad.

"That was close." Chris said giving Tom a hand climbing to his feet.

"From your mouth to Q's ears." Tom replied with a smile.

"Seriously... who is Q?" Chris asked.

All Tom could do was smile, and then he remembered that Chakotay wasn't there to share in the joke. His smile faded.

* * *

Chakotay looked up from where he had landed. He was still in the Causality engine room but power seemed to have been restored. In the center of the room, the engine was spinning at the same rate it had been when he had first come to the vessel. He crawled off the floor and onto his feet and looked around. There was no sign of Gullina and no sign of the energy flux he had come through.

"Don't Move!" came a husky voice from behind him. "Farth to all hands. Intruder alert, engine room."

Chakotay didn't move, all he could think to do was raise his hands in a non aggressive manner.

"Turn around."

He followed the command. When he had done a complete one eighty he was facing a Klingon wearing what looked like a starfleet uniform but slightly different. From what he could tell, it was the same uniform Janeway had described Tobias as wearing.

"I'm Commander Chakotay of the United Federation Starship Voyager." he said hoping to get some answers in return. But all the Klingon did was aim his weapon at him. In fact he had noticed, like the uniform, the phaser wasn't like any he had ever seen. He couldn't really even be sure if it was a phaser.

After a moment, the engine room doors parted making way for four others in the same uniform but all with separate markings on their shoulder's.

The man who was leading the group looked Human, but Chakotay could spot Betazoid eyes any day. He looked to be sizing Chakotay up as he approached. Beside him were a female Vulcan, a male Cardassian and a female Klingon who were all looking him over as well.

"So, what do we have here?" the Betazoid said coming to a halt beside the Klingon with the weapon.

"He claims he is from the Federation of Planets." the one named Farth explained.

This seemed to get everyone else's attention and each displayed a separate emotion on their face.

The Vulcan seemed to contemplate.

The Cardassian seemed insulted.

The Klingon seemed surprised.

But the Betazoid seemed unaffected.

"I am commander Chakotay, of the Starship Voyager." he said again. The Cardassian looked to his left at the Vulcan beside him. She shook her head.  
"There were never any such named vessels in use by the Federation during its brief tenure." she said.

Chakotay pondered a moment at what she had just said. "Where exactly am I," he asked desperately seeking answers.

The Betazoid, who was clearly in charge, took a step forward. "You are aboard the Starship Causality. In orbit around Mars."

Chakotay nearly fell over with this news. He was in Earths solar system. He wondered how the energy flux had transferred him here and by what means he would use to return. But a question still lingered in his mind about what the Vulcan had said.

"What did you mean a moment ago when you mentioned the Federation's 'brief tenure'?"

"The Federation was only an active charter for about a hundred years, and then was rechartered into the Universal Coalition after the fall of Batazed in 2347." she replied.

Chakotay wondered if that was what Chris had been talking about when he had recalled Tobias's memories. He looked up at the Betazoid who stood before him. He wondered if he had traveled in time. "I'll hazard a guess that your name is Tobias."

The Betazoid seemed stricken at hearing the name. Chakotay had been right.

"It seems we have a lot to discuss." Chakotay said.

All Tobias did was nod.


	38. Book 1 : Chapter 37

_I realized that I had forgotten to to wrap up the events from the opening prologue for a proper closing for book 1, so I added this chapter._

* * *

**Chapter 37  
**_A Short Recess_

Admiral Paris raised his hand for her to stop. Admiral Janeway complied and waited for him to say something.

"We've been at this for almost six hours. We'll take a forty minute recess." he said after a moment.

To the Admirals right, Garrif Lucsly of the temporal investigations sector showed displeasure. While on his left Rita Hollis smiled and seemed relieved.

Janeway had been concentrating on giving as full report as possible to what had happened in the Frain system, she hadn't realized so much time had passed. She realized now how much had actually happened during that particular event.

She stood and walked out of the conference room into the lobby area of Starfleet headquarters where other Starfleet officers and cadets walked about doing their duties without any distraction. She sighed and looked across the lobby, where she caught a glimpse of a familiar face smiling back at her. One she hadn't expected to see today.

He walked over towards her.

"Admiral." Jean-Luc Picard said and smiled. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Jean-Luc, it's good to see you. How was the conference on Enlor Six?" she asked returning the smile.

"Well, let me put it this way, it seemed more like a funeral than a conference. Everything was dreadfully formal. As you know, the Enlor are very particular in their speaking habits."

Janeway laughed lightly. She had assigned the _Enterprise E_ and its Captain on that particular mission. And she knew he would succeed in the mission. She didn't even feel the need to ask if it had been successful.

"So what brings you back to Earth, it's a long trip back from the Enlor system." Janeway asked him as they began to walk together.

Picard looked down at her and seemed puzzled. "You mean you haven't heard?"

"Heard what?" she asked stopping and turning to him.

It was strange that Picard had heard something of importance and she hadn't, after all, she was his superior.

"Starfleet has received a communique from somewhere within the Delta Quadrant." he said.

Janeway clenched her fist. He was talking about Chris's message, but why was it so important that they would recall the _Enterprise_ to Earth?

"I know about the message, but why would that warrant your recall?"

Picard again looked puzzled. He looked around the room and seemed to be contemplating something. He then looked back to her and gave her an answer she wasn't expecting.

"The message is emanating from an anomaly just outside of Earth's atmosphere. I wonder why you weren't told."

Janeway's mouth dropped open but she quickly recovered. That must have been why they felt it necessary to debrief her on the Frain incident so readily. They were preparing for the worst.

"They've asked me to sit in on your debriefing while the _Enterprise_ is in orbit holding a defensive position. Do you have any idea what this all about Admiral?"

Janeway looked up at him and frowned. "Well, let's just say the past, present and future are all about to come together for a heart to heart. And I don't think its going to be pretty."

Picard tugged on his uniform and nodded towards a bench nearby.

She began to fill him in on everything she had already told the Admiral in the debriefing.

**END OF BOOK 1**

* * *

**Book 2 Coming soon!**

**I will post it onto this as more chapters when I write it.**

**Please let me know what you thought of Book 1!**

**I truly hope you enjoyed it!**


	39. Book 2 : Prologue

**Book 2  
**  
**Prologue  
**_End Of All Things_

Tobias smiled.

On the shuttle's computer screen displayed a diagram of his new ship. His new command.

Even with a war on, he felt proud to be assigned a new ship, especially one that could play such an integral role in winning that war.

The shuttle turned in space and there standing out against the darkness, he saw it. Still resting silently inside the construction framework orbiting Mars, was the Starship _Causality_.

"Captain, there is a priority message coming in." a gruff voice said from beside him.

Tobias looked to his right at the shuttles pilot. It was his friend Krum, a Klingon he had met many years ago during the battle of Vulcan. The klingon had saved Tobias's life during that same conflict, and Tobias had then requested he join his crew as his chief security officer. With the fleet so small these days, able officers were abundant, but ships for them to crew were not. Krum had quickly accepted.

"Open the channel."

Krum pressed a few controls. The screen that had been displaying the Causality diagram changed to the Universal Coalition's banner logo and then a face appeared. A worried face.

"Admiral Mitchell, what's the situation?"

Behind the Admiral, Tobias could make out weapons fire. The Admiral ducked under a bolt of energy.

"Tobias, I'm sending your mission co-ordinates. We couldn't hold out waiting any longer. They have landed at multiple sites on Earth, there is no hope that we can hold the line here anymore."

"What about the Borg blockade in orbit?" Krum asked from his seat, showing surprise at what he was hearing.

"Destroyed, it had little effect on their sheer numbers." the Admiral replied as yelling was heard behind him.

Tobias looked up at the Causality in space before him.

"I know what your thinking Tobias, but you have your orders, you are to stay away from Earth." the Admiral said and then smiled. "God speed."

Tobias nodded as the connection ended abruptly.

"He will die honorably. This I know." Krum said grunting. This however, didn't make Tobias feel any better.

The shuttle was nearing the small docking bay on the Causality, which had room for only one shuttle. The ship had been designed small for one reason alone, so it could be built fast and jump right into service. After all, they had little time.

Tobias smiled to himself at that thought, and then he amended it. Now they had all the time in the world.

It had taken months to convince the Borg to join the Coalition. But when even they had lost half of their systems to the Gullina, they were quick to reconsider. With their help, they had constructed the Causality, the most advanced ship ever created thus far by the Coalition.

Tobias saw a quick flash of light from beside him. He knew the flash well and it made him grimace inwardly. "Q, if you're here to gloat, please leave."

Now standing beside him, leaning forward and looking out the shuttles front view port at the encircling docking bay was Q. As always she seemed smug and was grinning to herself. "Now Toby, is that any way to treat someone who could easily end this puny war with the wave of her hand?"

Krum grunted and showed his desire to tackle her, but Tobias guessed that after the last time he had tried, Krum had learned not to bother.

"If you had any desire to end this war, I'm sure you would have already, so please, stop wasting my time."

Q giggled in the same way she did whenever she had a scheme cooked up. Tobias didn't like it, she always showed up when something bad was about to happen. "It seems time, is what you now have plenty of Toby."

"What exactly do you want this time?" Tobias asked her as the shuttle came to a rest in the bay. He didn't like the fact she had just thought the same sentiment he had a moment before.

Q waved her arm and Tobias found himself on the small bridge of the Causality. The three crewman standing at their stations on the bridge looked up from their work but when they saw Q they went back to working. Tobias knew that Q appearing was commonplace and no one paid her any mind anymore, not ever since the treaty was signed.

As if reading his mind, Q frowned. "I want you to dissolve that stupid treaty you tricked the continuum into signing so I can help you." she said sheepishly falling into his captain chair. He crossed his arms, not really surprised that she would take his seat, as it was the only place to sit on the bridge. The original Borg design had left little room for comfort, but when the team that was building it got the plans, they had made a few adjustments for comfort. The captains chair was one of them.

Krum entered the bridge and grunted to T'Lane, the Vulcan first officer who was now standing beside the view screen watching Tobias and Q.

"We made that treaty because we were tired of you interfering with our affairs. Besides, you left yourself wide open for losing the bet which allowed for its creation in the first place. And I don't want you thinking that we aren't capable of handling this situation on our own." Tobias said, as he circled Q to stand in front of her.

Q was looking up at him and was grinning, like always, but suddenly she looked stricken. She then looked toward the wall behind her. She seemed to be lost in a distant thought for a moment and then she looked up at him again.

"It seems you have company. And I tell you now. I wasn't the one who brought him here, so don't go blaming me!" She said raising her hand, vanishing in all too familiar bathe of light.

Tobias looked over to T'Lane who raised an eyebrow in curiosity. Like him she was likely wondering what Q had meant by that?

Then the comm system chirped. _"Farth to all hands. Intruder alert, engine room."_


	40. Book 2 : Chapter 1

**Chapter One**  
_From The Top_

Chakotay watched as Tobias sat down across from him.

After their brief conversation in the engine room, Chakotay had been escorted to a rather small conference room on the same deck. After whispering among themselves for a moment, everyone else had left except for a security officer, the Vulcan and Tobias.

Before they had left engineering, they had searched him for weapons and they had found none. He had been glad he had thrown his phaser to Seven back on the Causality in his time, otherwise the Klingon in engineering may have likely stunned him on site.

Tobias stared at him for a moment, and Chakotay wondered if his mind was being searched by the Betazoid.

"You seem to know me, and I would like to know how this is possible, as I don't recall ever meeting you." he said finally.

Chakotay wondered how to word it. So he decided to just lay it all out for them in the simplest way possible.

"I come from your future, or, maybe even your past. I haven't really figured out which it is yet."

The Vulcan looked at him intently.

"Your telling the truth, which worries me." Tobias said leaning back in his chair.

Chakotay wondered what year he was in. If he was in the past, it was one dramatically different than the one he knew, and if it was the future he wondered why they had never heard of Voyager. He then considered a third possibility.

"Perhaps I'm from an alternate time line. You did say the Federation doesn't exist here, and where I am from its alive and kicking, striving in fact." He paused and looked at the two staring him down. "So, does your Vulcan friend have a name?"

Tobias looked to his side at the Vulcan. "Commander T'Lane is my first officer."

Chakotay nodded to her, and she slowly did the same back.

"I am Commander Chakotay, the first officer of the U.S.S Voyager. Kathryn Janeway is the captain."

"Janeway you say?" Tobias said reacting fully to her name. "Kathryn Janeway?"

Chakotay was surprised he knew her. It appeared some things in this time line weren't that different. "Yes, that's her name."

T'Lane stood and moved to a console and a small screen activated on the wall.

"Computer, please state all information on the current status of Kathryn Janeway." T'Lane said stepping aside so Chakotay could see the screen. There he saw an image of his Captain, but something was different. And the computer confirmed his notion.

"_Ensign Kathryn Janeway, Born in Bloomington Indiana on the planet Earth in 2336. Age 42. Currently stationed on the Starship Causality. She is currently located in the bio lab on deck three_."

Chakotay felt a pit in his stomach. According to her age, and year of birth, it was the same year here that it was on his side of the doorway he had come through. Most importantly, Kathryn was here, but in this place she was not a captain. The time line here was so drastically altered that he wondered what could have caused such a deviance of history?

* * *

Captain Janeway stood at the end of the bio bed where Sil lay unconscious. The Doctor had repaired the superficial damage of Sil's injury and was now concentrating on the underlying damage.

"Her frontal lobe is bruised and only time will heal it. If I try and hurry the process it could do more harm than good." The Doctor said putting down his medical tricorder.

Janeway stepped away and walked towards the Doctor's enclosed office and peered into the lab section of sickbay beyond the Doctor's office where Tuvok was now talking to Christopher.

The away team had been beamed back in a hurry because the arachnids had gotten out of control on the Causality. Chris had yet to see Sil in her current state. Janeway had told him to wait in the lab until she made sure it was alright for him to enter.

He noticed her and she nodded to him. He came quickly nearly pushing Tuvok out of the way.

"Can I see her?" he urgently asked.

"She is still unconscious, but yes, you may." The Doctor said from behind Janeway.

Chris stood beside Sil and looked down at her. Slowly he took her hand in his and closed his eyes.

"Captain, before we transported out, our tricorder scans showed hundreds of the arachnids. I suggest we cordon off the Causality and make sure none of the Gullina get out into the Frain population." Tuvok suggested walking up to stand beside her.

For a moment she hadn't realized what he had said. She had been too preoccupied watching the worried expression on Chris' face. She turned to Tuvok and gave him a grave look, one she knew he wouldn't be able to emulate.

"Contact Ret and inform him we will be sending security officers to help with the quarantine."

"Yes Captain." Tuvok said turning to go about his duty.

Janeway looked over her shoulder at Chris once more and then followed Tuvok out into the corridor.

The repairs to Voyager were slowly becoming fruitful, for the second time, and a few crewman were finishing up their work in the corridor she was now in. They looked up at the her as she passed but quickly went back to work when they realized she was just passing through.

She watched as Tuvok entered the turbo-lift at the opposite end of the corridor, but she did not follow him. She instead followed the slow arc of the hall towards the front of the ship. There along the wall was one of the few common area windows. She stopped and looked out, contemplating the view that was there.

Outside, the capital city of Fra glistened slightly as the star in this system passed out of sight under the horizon, reminding her of sunsets back on Earth.

She leaned on the rail attached to the bulkhead along the window and closed her eyes to lose herself in thought. The days that were behind them, had so many stories, and she wondered where the days ahead would lead them.

She opened her eyes and looked towards the horizon once more and watched as the sky hued into yellows and reds.

She stood there a long while, and watched as dusk became twilight. Her thoughts were that of what had happened on the bridge earlier that day, and what Sil had whispered while she lay injured.

"Love." Janeway whispered to herself.

Sil had uttered that word twice in her delirium, and Janeway knew it had been meant for Christopher. She now knew that the young Mr. Moss would choose to stay here on this planet.

And it was all because of love. The same thing that kept her crew fighting to survive, kept them all trying to get home to those they cared about.

But even now, Voyager had become their home, and it's crew had become a family. Could they risk the journey any longer?

Like Christopher, it seemed she and her crew had a decision to make. Had the time come to simply give up and settle down. Could they? Could she? Would she be happy on a planet so far from home? Would they be welcome? She knew the Frain would welcome them, but would she choose here, another down the line, or would Earth be the only destination of worth on this long journey? And what of all of those who had lost their lives getting Voyager this far, would they be begrudging their memory by just giving up?

Time and time again these thoughts had crossed her mind; On the eve of battles they had waged, before venturing into areas of space known to be hostile, many times she had let herself fall into the idea of giving up on Earth. And home.

When she had discovered that her fiance, Mark, had moved on and been remarried, her own personal reasons for getting home seemed distant and no longer urgent.

Janeway looked down at her hands, still resting on the bulkhead below the view port. They were covered in dirt and smudged with ash from the repairs she had been making all afternoon.

Her crew, and her ship. Those were the things she loved. And she would keep them safe. No matter what. Even if they were to stay here, she knew, they would have to survive all of this.

Determined again, and pushing any doubts aside, Janeway tugged on her uniform to straighten it, and then strode down the corridor towards the turbo-lift .

* * *

Information Gatherer Zea stood on the corner of the public landing platform and watched her camera crew as they stowed their equipment inside of the company shuttle.

The events of the day had been some of the most amazing that had occurred in recent history, and she beamed with delight at the fact she had been there to capture it on a live feed.

She looked up towards the twinkling points of light in the night sky and found herself frowning. While it was true that she had never seen anything so wondrous as this before, she also had fond memories of herself as a child looking up and seeing the field pulsating throughout the night. It had always been that way, and now, the field she had known was already becoming a distant memory.

This new sky, was darker, and provided no light of its own. The field had provided an almost day like brightness, even in the late hours of the night, so there had been little need to illuminate the cities outer areas. It was almost eerie how dark the city was now.

"Hurry up with those cases you two. I want to get back to the broadcast center before mid evening." she said as she looked back over towards her crew.

Both of them looked up at her clearly annoyed, but she shrugged off their looks and looked at her timepiece. It was getting late.

"Zea, you fool, don't let impatience get the best of you." She said to herself. She then turned and looked towards the bay, where she saw that The Starship was lit up like the sky above. It lay silently covered with tiny pinpricks of illumination leaking through the windows on its hull. It was like a gem, floating on the water.

After the events at the Government Center earlier that day, she and her crew had come to this part of the city to capture images of the Voyager for the next days broadcast. She now reviewed the images in her mind as best she could from memory only, and was satisfied with the days work. She was quite sure taht she would sleep very well that night.

Behind her she heard something fall and hit the platform with a loud thud. She turned she saw that one of her crew was on the ground shaking violently, and the other was backing slowly away from him for some reason.

"What is going on?" She asked quickly taking a few steps forward. She wondered why he was not helping his coworker who was clearly in distress?

As she drew closer to the camera operator who was seizing on the ground, even more violently now, she could make out that something was attached to the side of his neck. After a moment, she could better make out what it was.

Stricken at its appearance she stumbled and fell into a kneeling stance. She felt compelled to run, but the shock alone was preventing her from being able to do so. Overwhleming shock, at the fact that there before her was one of her peoples creators. A god.

The cameraman stopped seizing after another moment and she wondered if he was dead. Had the creator killed him? But before she could think further into it, he sat up and looked over at her with an emptiness in his eyes. He slowly stood and started to walk towards her with his arms outstretched, the creator still attached to his neck.

She was finally able to muster the strength and screamed. She quickly climbed onto her feet and began to run as fast as she could in the same direction the other camera man had already fled moments before.

No matter how scared she was at that moment, in the back of her mind part of her was wishing she had a camera.

She reached the corner of a nearby building and fell against the adjoining wall and closed her eyes. In the distance, she started to hear others begin to scream. Further off, there were the sounds of a series of explosions.

She looked up at the darkness above her, and wished that she knew what was going on.


End file.
